Full text of "The Improvement Era"

SPECIAL 
CONFERENCE ISSUE 



JUNE 1955 




by Dr. Franklin S. Harris, Jr. 



A powerful new tool for cancer diag- 
■i*- nosis is being developed by the use 
of ultrasonic ranging based on the ob- 
servation that the extremely high fre- 
quency sound is reflected more by 
cancerous tissue than normal tissue. A 
short "squeak" (too high to be heard) 
lasting a millionth of a second and re- 
peated every thousand of a second is 
sent into the tissue, and by techniques 
similar to radar a picture is formed on 
the cathode-ray tube. Early detection 
of cancer and identification of tumors 
are made possible by this work at St. 
Barnabas Hospital, Minneapolis, Min- 
nesota. 

A nother benefit by the application of 
-^*- atomic physics to human problems 
has been made by exposing the male 
fly of the screw worm of Curacao and 
Florida to radioactive cobalt to make the 
fly sterile. Thousands of sterilized 
males are released, and the eggs of the 
females which mate only once a year 
and with one male, if the male has been 
treated, will be sterile. With fewer 
flies hatching there will be fewer of 
the screw worms which cause millions 
of dollars of damage to livestock. 

HP he University of California expedi- 
-*- tion to Mount Makalu in the Hima- 
layas in Nepal found spiders living at 
20,000 feet elevation and small snails at 
16,000 feet. 

f^'ECiL Pierce at the Oregon State Col- 
^ lege experiment station at Union has 
found that shorn lambs fatten faster, 
about 17 percent more each day, and on 
less feed than unshorn lambs. 

TP he African giant rat, Cricetomys, 
measures 12 to 18 inches long in the 
body, larger than a rabbit. It has a 
two-foot long tail and may have six- 
inch whiskers. For food it eats fruits, 
seeds, and berries. 

A t the time of Nansen's Fram expedi- 
■ r *- tion of 1893-96 there was an aver- 
age of 144 inches of ice forming an- 
nually in the North Polar Sea, but at 
the time of the drift of the Russian 
icebreaker Sedov in 1937-40 it was only 
85 inches. 

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A New Species of Society? 

by Dr. G. Homer Durham 

VICE PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH 



A major event in the field of scholar- 
ship was the publication in 1954 of 
volumes 7, 8, 9; and 10 of Arnold J. 
Toynbee's A Study of History* The 
first six volumes of this intriguing work 
appeared between 1935 and 1939. An 
abridged version of these same six vol- 
umes appeared in 1947, carefully pre- 
pared by D. C. Somervell. In 'Somer- 
vell's words the study began with the 
assumption that "the intelligible units 
of historical study are not nations or 
periods but 'societies' "; and, that the 
intelligible "society" is the unit identi- 
fiable as a "civilization." 

By this time every schoolboy has be- 
come familiar with Toynbee's hypothe- 
sis that civilization began 
about six or seven thou- 
sand years ago, and, that 
there have been some 
twenty-one of them. Some 
of these have disap- 
peared; others exist as 
"fossils"; some now flour- 
ish (?). Not all have ap- 
peared at the same time. 
Many have been the out- 
growth of predecessors. Some have been 
"affiliated" in interesting ways. "En- 
counters" between contemporary civi- 
lizations have produced not only wars, 
but also some of the most interesting 
phenomena of human experience. Not 
everyone, however, is familiar with the 
unique development Toynbee's hypothe- 
sis receives in the final four volumes 
which recently appeared. Fuller study 
and testing have convinced Toynbee, 
at least, that his use of the twenty-one 
civilizations as objects of study has 
served only to demonstrate that the most 
important object of study is neither 
civilizations, nations as such, nor events 
in time or space, but universal churches. 
Indeed, he argues that universal churches 
on occasion may represent a new and 
higher species of society. 

In volume 7 he writes: "While a 
civilization may be a provisionally in- 
telligible field of study, the Common- 
wealth of God is the only morally 
tolerable field of action. . . ." (P. 513.) 

Toynbee's work is awakening much 
theological interest in scholarly circles 
throughout the world. But he, himself, 
is what in the United States might be 
called a professor of international rela- 
tions. Indeed, he is, and has been for 
many, many years, the Director of the 
Royal Institute of International Affairs, 




* Oxford University Press, London, New York, and 
Toronto, 1954, (772, 732, 759, and 422 pages, re- 
spectively) . 



370 



London, England. The massive and 
fact-packed annual volumes entitled the 
Survey of International Affairs, encyclo- 
pedic in their scope, have impressed 
scholars and been widely used since 
their initial appearance" in 1921. 

It is Professor Toynbee's personal be- 
lief that "the four higher religions" 
(Christianity, Islam, Mahayana Bud- 
dhism, and Hinduism) are but "four 
variations on a single theme." And, that 
"if all the four components of this 
heavenly music of the spheres could be 
audible on earth simultaneously, and 
with equal clarity, to one pair of human 
ears, the happy hearer would find him- 
self listening, not to a discord, but to 
a harmony." (Vol. 7, p. 
428.) With respect to 
current affairs, he also 
believes that among these 
<p "a reconciliation, on 

Christian initiative" is 
"not a chimerical hope to 
cherish" (p. 441) but per- 
haps something real — de- 
pending on men's current 
ability to "respond" to 
this "challenge." 

He is greatly disturbed by modern 
man's worship — idolatrous worship, says 
he — of "the Leviathan state." He is no 
less disturbed by the observation 
throughout his study of history, that in 
universal churches as well, the all too 
frequent recourse of leadership and fol- 
lowership (in search of a "sure thing" 
or certainty in "salvation") is to regi- 
mentation and social drill. This has 
always driven creative leadership and 
creative individuals underground or 
crushed the precious fruits of individual- 
ity under the weight of "organization- 
worship" — anthropolatry. Often this 
creativeness emerges in the form of a 
new religion. But then the danger re- 
curs. He writes: "The Achilles' heel in 
the social anatomy of a civilization is 
... its dependence on mimesis as a 
'social drill' for ensuring that the rank 
and file of mankind shall follow their 
leaders." 

If universal churches in the modern 
sense are devices "able to overcome the 
political barriers between parochial 
states and even the cultural barriers be- 
tween parochial civilizations" (7:433), 
then he declares that such churches 
should cease to "reimpose on their ad- 
herents the very bonds from which they 
had once set them free." (Idem.) 

Jesus said we were to know the truth, 

(Continued on page 478) 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



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JUNE 1955 



371 



■ 



::■:,.' 




'The Voice of the Church" 




VOLUME 58 




NUMBER 



une 



Editors: DAVID 0. McKAY - RICHARD L. EVANS 

Managing Editor: DOYLE L. GREEN 

Associate Managing Editor: MARBA C. JOSEPHSON 

Production Editor: ELIZABETH J. MOPPITT 

Research Editor: ALBERT L. ZOBELL, JR. 

Contributing Editors: ARCHIBALD P. BENNETT - G. HOMER DURHAM 

FRANKLIN S. HARRIS, JR. - MILTON R. HUNTER - HUGH NIBLEY 

LEE A. PALMER - CLAUDE B. PETERSEN - SIDNEY B. SPERRY 

General Manager: ELBERT R. CURTIS - Associate Manager: BERTHA S. REEDER 

Business Manager: JOHN D. GILES - Advertising Director: VERL F. SCOTT 

Subscription Director: A. GLEN SNARR 



The 

"If Ye Humble Yourselves" . 



's Page 

.President David O. McKay 381 



Church Features 



Your Question: The Iniquity of the Fathers 

Joseph Fielding Smith 383 

The Way of the Church — Controlling the Past — Part VI 

..HughNibley 384 

General Conference Section: 

Righteousness Key to World Peace ....President David O. McKay 395 

Christianity Definitions President Stephen L Richards 398 

"What Is Man"— He Still Stands as God Made Him 

-. President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. 400 

The Way to Eternal Life Joseph Fielding Smith 401 

General Conference Index 373 Appointees to General Boards of 

MIA June Conference 1955 374 MIA 378 

The Church Moves On 376 Melchizedek Priesthood 464 

Presiding Bishopric's Page 466 



Special Features 



The Spoken Word from Temple Square 

Richard L. Evans 383, 446, 448, 460 

". . . publish it upon the mountains" — The Story of Martin 

Harris— Chapter IV ...William H. Homer, Jr. 387 

Mormons in the Magazines ._ Franklin S. Harris, Jr. 390 

It's Smart to be a Latter-day Saint _ LaRue C. Longden 392 

Through the Eyes of Youth — Dearest Dad Eileen Gibbons 393 

How Much Security for Your Child? -Annie Laurie Von Tungeln 394 

Exploring the Universe, Franklin S. ciety? G. Homer Durham 370 

Harris, Jr 369 Your Page and Ours 480 

These Times, A New Species of So- 

Today's Family 

Buffet Suppers Gladys Wight's 

Delight, Iris Parker „ 468 

A Parable for Parents, Lee 

Priestly 470 

If I Were in My Teens, Alberta H. 



Christensen 472 

Handy Hints 474 

Flowers for the Lady, Ruth K. 

Kent J 475 



ies, Poetry 

Irma Had a Headache Lorraine R. Manderscheid 388 

Just the Groom Christie Lund Coles 391 

City at Night, Catherine E. Berry ....378 Prayer for the Right Word, Anna 

Frontispiece, His Homestead, Dor- M. Priestley 448 

othy J. Roberts 379 Forecast, Helen Baker Adams 450 

Poetry Page 380 No Comment, May Richstone 471 

The Young in Heart, L. M. Beck ....424 



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EDITORIAL AND BUSINESS OFFICES 
50 North Main Street 

Y.M.M.I.A. Offices, 50 North Main St. 

Y.W.M.I.A. Offices, 40 North Main St. 

Salt Lake City 1, Utah 

Copyright 1955 by Mutual Funds, Inc., and 
published by the Mutual Improvement Asso- 
ciations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat- 
ter-day Saints. All rights reserved. Sub- 
scription price, $2.50 a year, in advance ; 
foreign subscriptions, $3.00 a year, in advance ; 
25c single copy. 

Entered at the Post Office, Salt Lake City, 
Utah, as second-class matter. Acceptance for 
mailing at special rate of postage provided 
for in section 1103. Act of October 1917, au- 
thorized July 2, 1918. 

The Improvement Era is not responsible for 
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tributions. All manuscripts must be accom- 
panied by sufficient postage for delivery and 
return. 



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372 



Member, Audit Bureau of Circulations 



THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



CONFERENCE INDEX 
Sermon Subjects 



Aaronic Priesthood 406 

Agriculture 407 

America 407 

Atonement 403 

Badlands 381 

Book of Mormon 430, 440 

Children 381, 400, 404, 409, 410, 428 

Christianity Definitions 398 

Comic Books 428 

Cowley, Matthew 412 

Easter 423 

Education 413 

Faith 404, 435 

Family Unity 400, 435 

Happiness '. 435 

Home 400, 435 

Humility 404, 435 

Indians 425, 430 

Jesus Christ 403, 422, 429 

Joy -. 432, 435 

Literature 413, 422, 428 

Marriage 416 

Missionaries 409, 428 

MIA 410, 412 

Prayer : 404, 412 

Pre-existence 438 

Priesthood 402, 425 

Repentance 401, 418 

Serviceman 415 

Spirituality 416 

Television 428 

Truth 401, 420 

Word of Wisdom 410 

Youth 410, 415, 423 



Speakers 



Bennion, Adam S 432 

Benson, Ezra Taft 407 

Brown, Hugh B 423 

Buehner, Carl W 414 

Christiansen, EI Ray L 402 

Clark, J. Reuben, Jr : 400 

Evans, Richard L 435 

Hanks, Marion D 415 

Hunter, Milton R 430 

Isaacson, Thorpe B 406 

Ivins, Antoine R. 421 

Kimball, Spencer W 425 

Kirkham, Oscar A 409 

Longden, John 412 

McConkie, Bruce R 436 

McKay, David 395 

Morris, George Q 429 

Moyle, Henry D 418 

Petersen, Mark E 410 

Richards, LeGrand 440 

Richards, Stephen L 398 

Romney, Marion G 403 

Sill, Sterling W 438 

Smith, Eldred G 404 

Smith, Joseph Fielding 401 

Sonne, Alma 422 

Stapley, Delbert L. 416 

Young, Clifford E 420 

Young, Levi Edgar 413 

Young, S. Dilworth 428 

NOTE: Elder Harold B. Lee of the Coun- 
cil of the Twelve was the speaker on the 
"Church of the Air" program of the Colum- 
bia Broadcasting System's radio network, 
Sunday morning, April 3. Elder Thomas E, 
McKay, Assistant to the Council of the 
Twelve, and Presiding Bishop Joseph L. 
Wirthlin did not speak at the conference. 
The priesthood session of the conference 
was addressed by members of the First 
Presidency and by Former President Henry 
A. Matis of the Finnish Mission, and Elder 
Wendell B. Mendenhall. Their talks will 
appear in the Conference Report. 
JUNE 1955 




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374 



MIA JUNE CONFERENCE 1955 

June 10, 11, 12 



MIA has come a long way since 
its first June conference which 
first convened May 30, 1896 — 
fifty-nine years ago! But the same 
purposes that stirred ward, stake, and 
general board workers to come to- 
gether then still move them to the 
spirit of gathering in 1955! 

June conference will bring zest and 
new impetus in the MIA. Full to the 
brim with activity and interest, the 
program abounds in new tips for 
teaching, new alertness for activities, 
and new spirit for spirituality. It also 
will indicate ways to bring into ac- 
complishment the great spectacles 
such as dance, drama, speech, and 
music, in order to help young people 
feel the solidarity that comes from 
knowing that there are many who 
believe as they do and find joy in 
the same kind of wholesome activity. 

One of the features for the YWMIA 
this year will be the History of the 
YWMIA which will be available. In 
1911 Susa Young Gates prepared the 
first History of the YLMIA. This is 
the first history since that time and 
brings up-to-date the activities and 
departments in which the YWMIA 
had so long contributed to the 
strength and stature of the women of 
the Church. This history, prepared 
under the direction of the general 
presidency of the YWMIA, includes 
the thrilling story of the inspired 
origin of the Bee Hive department, 
the dramatic origin of the Gleaners, 
the stirring organization of the Mia 
Maids and the Junior Gleaners, as 
well as of the summer program, 
camping, and other activities. 

Pre-conference features include a 
full day of sports and camping for 
everyone, regardless of whether he is 
engaged in this department or not. 
With the increase of leisure as a re- 
sult of shortened work hours, wise 
direction needs to be given to the 
use of free time of both youth and 
adults. Those who wish to attend 
these sessions will find great reward. 

The outline which follows, bare as 
it is, gives some concept of the wide 
range of interest and worth of the 
June conference program for June 
1955: 

JUNE MIA PRE-CONFERENCE EVENTS 
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 

9:00 a.m. DISTRICT DANCE SUPER- 



VISORS— U of U Field House. Lunch- 
Lion House — $1.80. 

2:00 p.m. STAGE ACTS REHEARSALS— 
U of U Women's Gym. 

4:30 p.m. NO. 1 GIRLS' DANCE RE: 
HEARSAL— U of U Field House (Girls 
dancing Thursday, June 9). 

5:30 p.m. DRAMA FESTIVAL REHEARS- 
AL — Roadshows— Park Stake Center, 736 
So. 8th E. 

6:00 p.m. GENERAL DANCE FESTIVAL 
REHEARSAL— U of U Field House and 
Stadium. 

6:30 p.m. DRAMA FESTIVAL REHEARS- 
AL — "San Juan Outpost" — Kingsbury Hall, 
U of U. 

8:30 p.m. NO. 2 GIRLS' DANCE RE- 
HEARSAL— U of U Field House (Girls, 
dancing Friday, June 10) 

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 

7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. YWMIA CAMP 

INSTITUTE, Fairmont Park, 23rd So. & 

9th East. 
11:00 a.m. 'STAGE ACT REHEARSALS— U 

of U Stadium. 
6:00 p.m. DRAMA FESTIVAL— Roadshows 

—Park Stake Center, 736 So. 8th E. (75c- 

25c) 

6:30 p.m. ALL CHURCH RELAY— Uni- 
versity of Utah Stadium. 

7:00 p.m. MUSIC FESTIVAL REHEARS- 
AL — Assembly Hall and Barratt Hall. 

7:30 p.m. ALL DANCERS GATHER FOR 
FESTIVAL— U of U Field House. 

8:30 p.m. DANCE FESTIVAL— U of U 
Stadium. 

8:30 p.m. DRAMA FESTIVAL— 1954 Prize 
Winning Play, "San Juan Outpost" — 
Kingsbury Hall (Tickets: 75c adults, 25c 
children). 

MIA JUNE -CONFERENCE EVENTS 

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 

8:00-9:10 a.m. RECEPTION — Tabernacle 
Grounds (Come early!) 

9:30-11:30 a.m. GENERAL SESSION— Tab- 
ernacle. 

11:45 a.m.-l:15 p.m. STAKE MIA SUPER- 
INTENDENTS' AND PRESIDENTS' 
LUNCH— Hotel Utah. 

1:30-3:30 p.m. GENERAL SESSION— Tab- 
ernacle. 

3:45 p.m. REHEARSAL FOR MUSIC FES- 
TIVAL — Tabernacle. 

4:30 p.m. GOLDEN GLEANER SUPPER 
— Bonneville Stake House (1535 Bonne- 
view Drive. $2.25 — reservation necessary 
by June 4th). 

6:30 p.m. DRAMA FESTIVAL— 1954 Prize- 
Winning Play, "San Juan Outpost" — 
Kingsbury Hall (Tickets: 75c adult, 25c 
children). 

6:30 p.m. ALL CHURCH RELAY— U of 

U Stadium. 
7:30 p.m. ALL DANCERS GATHER FOR 

FESTIVAL— U of U Field House. 

8:30 p.m. DANCE FESTIVAL— U of U 
Stadium. 

8:30 p.m. DRAMA FESTIVAL— Roadshows 
—Park Stake Center, 736 So. 8th E. (75c- 
25c). 

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 

6:45-8:45 a.m. MASTER M MEN BREAK- 

(Continued on page 452) 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 








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Imp. Era 6-55 



© The Grolier Society Inc. 1955 



375 



the Church moves On 



A Day To Day Chronology Of Church Events 



April 1955 



IThe annual conference of the 
Primary Association began on 
Temple Square. 



2 



President David O. McKay was 
one of the speakers at a session of 

the Primary Association conference. The 

conference concluded today. 

A general priesthood meeting was held 
in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. More 
than seventy other congregations of 
priesthood bearers situated in Utah, 
Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Colorado, 
Washington, Oregon, Arizona, and Cali- 
fornia listened to this service by a direct 
closed circuit public address system. 

The First Presidency announced the 
appointment of Elder Junius M. Jackson 
to the presidency of the New England 
States Mission, succeeding President J. 
Howard Maughan. President Jackson 
has been president of the Bonneville 
(Salt Lake City) Stake for several years. 
As a young man he served a mission in 
the Eastern States. In recent years he has 
been a counselor in the Yalecrest Ward, 
and a member of the Bonneville Ward, 
a member of the Bonneville Stake high 
council, and a counselor in the stake 
presidency. Mrs. Jackson is a member 
of the general board of the YWMIA. 
They are the parents of five children, 
four of whom will accompany them to 
the field of labor. 

The First Presidency announced the 
appointment of Elder Theodore C. 
Jacobsen as president of the Eastern 
States Mission succeeding President 
Delbert G. Taylor. As a young man he 
filled a mission in Denmark. Long 
active in the work of the Church, at 
this call he was bishop of the Bonne- 
ville Ward, Bonneville (Salt Lake City) 
Stake. President Jacobsen's wife, the 
former Florence Grant Smith, and their 
three sons will accompany him to the 
field of labor. 

It was announced that Elder Lee Jep- 
persen had been appointed to the gen- 
eral board of the Young Men's Mutual 
Improvement Association. 

Many returned missionaries and serv- 
icemen held their semi-annual reunions. 



The one hundred twenty-fifth an- 
nual conference of the Church 
opened today on Temple Square. The 

376 



conference was broadcast, in part or 
entirety, by more than twenty radio 
stations and by fourteen television sta- 
tions. 

Elder Harold B. Lee of the Council 
of the Twelve addressed the nationwide 
radio audience on the Church of the Air 
program of the Columbia Broadcasting 
System. 

Elder Hugh B. Brown, Assistant to the 
Council of the Twelve, addressed the 
nationwide radio audience of the "Faith 
in Action" program of the National 
Broadcasting Company. 

The semi-annual general conference 
of the Deseret Sunday School was held 
in the Tabernacle. Among the speak- 
ers were President Stephen L Richards 
of the First Presidency and Elder Adam 
S. Bennion of the Council of the 
Twelve. 

» Sessions of the one hundred twen- 
^ ty-fifth general conference of the 

Church continued on Temple Square. 
An early morning agriculture meeting 

was held in the Assembly Hall. 

A special missionary meeting was held 

during the evening in the Tabernacle. 

Other groups held their reunions this 
evening. 



r General sessions of the conference 
" were recessed. Many of the con- 
ference visitors went to Provo, Utah, for 
special activities at Brigham Young Uni- 
versity. 

Mission presidents met with the Gen- 
eral Authorities in special meetings. 

The Presiding Bishopric conducted a 
special meeting in the evening in the 
Tabernacle. 

Elder John Longden, Assistant to the 
Council of the Twelve, dedicated the 
chapel of the Whitney Ward, Franklin 
(Idaho) Stake. 



o Concluding sessions of the gen- 
" eral conference were held in the 
Tabernacle. 

It was announced that the Church 
now has a membership of 1,302,240. 

Leroy J. Robertson's "Oratorio from 
the Book of Mormon" was presented 
this evening in the Tabernacle by the 
eighty-six piece Utah Symphony Or- 
chestra and the 350 voices from the com- 
bined choruses of the University of 
Utah. 



ft It was announced that Betty Jane 
" Killpack and Velma Harvey had 
been appointed to the general board of 
the Young Women's Mutual Improve- 
ment Association. 

Announcement was made that Elder 
Horace A. Christiansen had been ap- 
pointed to the general board of the 
Deseret Sunday School. 



In Elder LeGrand Richards of the 
Council of the Twelve delivered 
the address on the "Faith in Action" 
radio program of the National Broad- 
casting Company. 

The Salt Lake Tabernacle Choir and 
the orchestra of Brigham Young Uni- 
versity presented the eighth annual 
Easter choral service in the Tabernacle. 

Elder Frank Carl Berg sustained as 
second counselor in the presidency of 
the Monument Park (Salt Lake City) 
Stake, succeeding Elder Kenneth P. Borg. 

| a Announcement was made that 

1 Mrs. Mary Rose Young and Mrs. 

Annie M. Ellsworth had been appointed 

to the general board of the Relief 

Society. 



t n President David O. McKay dedi- 
*- * cated the chapel of the St. George 

Fifth and Sixth wards, St. George 

(Utah) Stake. 

President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. of the 
First Presidency, dedicated the chapel 
of the Owyhee Ward, Nyssa (Oregon) 
Stake. 

Elder David H. Yarn, Jr., formerly 
second counselor in the presidency of 
the East Provo (Utah) Stake, sustained 
as first counselor, succeeding Elder B. 
West Belnap. Elder Harold S. Hintze 
sustained as second counselor in the 
stake presidency. 



i\ *) The First Presidency announced 
" ** that Elder Marion G. Romney of 
the Council of the Twelve would soon 
tour the Australian Mission, and while 
there would divide the mission into two 
fields of labor. 



fl A President David O. McKay de- 
livered the annual John A. Widt- 
soe memorial address before LDS 
students and their friends at the Los 
Angeles Institute of Religion. 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



yours A&ui'Dtimb 



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377 



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Appointees to General Boards of MIA 



Three new members have been 
added to the general boards of the 
Mutual Improvement Associations 
— Lee Jeppersen to the Young Men's, 
and Betty Jane Killpack and Velma 
Harvey to the Young Women's gen- 
eral board. 




f 



Lee Jeppersen 

T? lder Jeppersen of the South Twen- 
*-* tieth Ward, Ensign (Salt Lake 
City) Stake, was born at Corinne, 
Utah, the son of Nephi and Rasminna 
Jeppersen. During World War II he 
served in the Pacific Theater as a 
B-29 pilot. After the war he was 
graduated from the University of 
Utah. 

Always active in the Church, he 
has labored principally in the Mutual, 
serving as ward dance director, ward 
activity counselor, Explorer leader, 
ward superintendent in the South 
Twentieth Ward, and activity coun- 
selor in the Ensign Stake superin- 
tendency. His wife is the former 
Frances Clawson. The couple have 
one daughter. 





Betty Jane Killpack 

Oetty Killpack began teaching in 
" the auxiliary organizations of the 
Church when she was twelve years 



old, when she was called to teach in 
the Sunday School. By the time she 
was old enough to be a Junior Girl 
in Mutual, she was teaching the Jun- 
ior Girls' class. In the Ferron Ward, 
Emery (Utah) Stake, she served as 
dance and speech director, and also 
as teacher in the Gleaner class. In 
Helper, Utah, she was the dance di- 
rector. She is the daughter of Mr. 
and Mrs. Clive Killpack of Ferron, 
Utah. 

She has filled a mission to the Cali- 
fornia Mission, and has served as a 
missionary in the University (Salt 
Lake City) Stake. She has been 
president of the YWMIA of the West 
Eleventh Ward. At this call to the 
general board she was serving as the 
University Stake drama director. She 
is a Golden Gleaner. She is serving 
on the sports committee. 




Velma Harvey 

T7"elma Harvey also has grown from 
' her youth in Church activity. 
She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
John M. Harvey of Tridell, Utah. She 
was graduated from the Alterra High 
School and the Alterra Seminary. She 
has filled a mission in the University 
(Salt Lake City) Stake, and has 
served in the YWMIA of the West 
Eleventh Ward, first as secretary and 
later as activity counselor- She is a 
director of the University Stake. She 
is a member of the Mia Maid com- 
mittee. 



378 



CITY AT NIGHT 

By Catherine E. Berry 

'The city goes to sleep as if it feared 

To close its eyes upon the spreading 
dark; 
It leaves a night light burning in each street 
And hangs a moon above the square of park. 

But like a watchful mother it can stir 
To instant wakefulness at any sound, 
To summon its resources to combat 
The threat of danger lurking in its bound. 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 




by Dorothy J. Roberts 



His hands have fashioned here with woven poles, 
In signature across the precious claim, 
A zigzag barrier on virgin knolls 
Inscribing this wild beauty to his name. 

The road ribbons wend where his axles turned; 
His brown arms labored; and his back was bent 
Over tool in summer while color burned 
And rocks were furnace till the light was spent. 

Most beautiful is earth, loved by a man 
Who fabricates his love with industry, 
Shielding the cherished acres in his span, 
Vigil of wilderness and native tree. 

He weaves bare timber to a rugged seam, 

And wheel-tracks rim the boundary of his dream. 

— Photograph by Lcland Van Wagoner 



iitir' 










'•sfeiip:"-,-:' 



JUNE 1955 



379 



PEACE IN THE MOUNTAINS 

By Leah Sherman 

f^o with the turning wheels on holiday: 
A truant mind needs azure, foam-flecked 

sky; 
Promise yourself this day to gather peace: 
Serenity from watching chipmunks play. 
Out-distance ribboned roadway when your 

mind 
Grows stale. The quietness of mountain 

lake 
Is antidote for cities' pressured hold. 
High in the uplands where the sky leans 

down 
To touch the treetops: air invigorates; 
Add campfire songs to winter memories. 
Stop where a singing stream can tantalize 
With creel of rainbow trout for evening 

meal. 
Follow where brook and roadway cut 

through hills 
Into the pattern western evening spills. 



BEYOND THE DOOR 

By LeRoy Burke Meagher 

^Ipen the door to sorrow 

When the morning sun is low; 
Walk the shadowed gray earth grieving 
For the hour that you would know. 
Moisten your cup with weeping 
That your tongue may taste the pain; 
And your heart, accepting sadness, 
Will be caught to joy again. 



STAR SEARCH 

By Maryhale Woolset) 

|~Vn cloudy evenings 

I have watched searchlights 
Explore the skies, 
Assailing a canopy of mist. 
... So soft, so unresistant, 
Yet impenetrable to light or sight. 
(Like the intangible barriers 
Between me and what I desire!) 

The bright beams stab vaguely 
This way, that way — seeking, lost « 
Till suddenly shifting winds 
Clear a passage, 
And the eager rays dart through, 
Freed to the far blue skyways 
And the constant stars. 



MESSAGE 

By Lucile V. McCurtain 

The hummingbird probes every fuchsia 

flame 
Then rests his honeyed maw in pine bough 

haven. 

The jay cracks sunflower seeds 
Then preens his zenith-blue in the same 
lodge. 

I, who have drunk my sorrow, 

Take comfort from their healing normalcy. 

380 



OLD HOME 
By Stanton A. Coblentz 

ATever again, perhaps, we shall re-enter 

•^ That house where once we labored, 
laughed, and dreamed, 

Dim rooms that were our life's retreat and 
center, 

Where warmly the redwood-filtered sun- 
light beamed. 

There through the years old friends have 

congregated 
By lamp and moonglow and the firelit 

cheer, 
Till their fond presence almost has created 
Its own benign and loving atmosphere. 

More than the walks of daisy, rose, and 
aster, 

More than the maple grove, the huge green- 
bay, 

More than the cottage frame of wood and 
plaster 

Is given to them who tread our paths to- 
day. 

Part of our life, too deep for time's dispell- 
ing, 

Ghostlike remains behind that ivied door, 

While we look skyward from a later dwell- 
ing 

To see the sun on hills unviewed before. 




CHILDREN'S GAME 

By Rose C. Demmitt 

A game we played long, long ago 

Before TV and radio 
Is shining in my memory book 
Where wistful eyes return to look. 
We knew so many good ones, too, 
Enjoyed when evening chores were through. 
"Hide the Thimble" was one choice, 
A game not overrun with noise, 
And we were happy, everyone 
Whenever Mother joined the fun, 
For when the thimble came to her, 
Excitement set us all astir, 
For sometimes like a cunning elf 
She hid it somewhere on herself. 
Then we would crowd around her knees 
A-twitter like plum blossom bees 
Until someone let out a cheer, 
For they had spied it in her ear. 
O we were happier then somehow 
Than children are today, I vow. 



LANGUAGE OF HANDS 

By Elizabeth A. Hutchison 

TIands may speak a language 

Rooted in the heart; 
Babies know security 
Caressing hands impart. 
Those that make home beautiful, 
Its many needs supply, 
Are etched with toil and sacrifice 
That love will not deny. 
Outstretched hands of children 
Pleading for their bread, 
Speak war's desolation 
With eloquence unsaid. 
Hands beseech a blessing, 
Humbly clasped in prayer, 
That God will lift the burden 
The heart finds hard to bear. 

TWO THINGS 

By Jane H. Merchant 

'Two things are beautiful 

Beyond all other things, 
The sky that comforts all, 
The heart that sings. 

So may my song of praise 
Rise skyward, clear and strong, 
Forever, for the sky 
And for the song. 

TO A DAUGHTER LEAVING 

By Christie Lund Coles 

fooD-SYE now, no, it won't be long. 

Are you sure you have all your things? 
(Child, child, how can I let you go, 
You who were sunlight, gossamer wings?) 

The wedding was very lovely. 

A kiss. . . . Your lipstick didn't smear. 

(There lies your doll forgotten, 

So much, so much of you is here.) 

Write often, tell me all the news. 

The road is good, though somewhat steep. 

(Hurry, hurry now, my darling, 

Leave quickly so I can weep.) 

BE TO ME 

By Elaine V. Emans 

Be to me a river flowing 

Quietly to sea. 
Be a cool and clean wind blowing 
Often over me. 

Be the challenge of a hill 
When I have need to climb; 
And be to me the peace of still 
Woodlands at even-time. 

Be the singing of a bird 

Of strange enchanted lands, 

Yet be old songs my heart has heard 

And loves and understands. 

Be the strength of trees that brace 
Themselves against a storm, 
But be a gentle lamplit place 
Beyond the circle of harm. 

Be the joys I cannot tell 
But knew must surely come — 
Yet be to me the deeps, as well. 
Which I can never plumb. 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



> ss^s^jvxbvrNiNi^WSs^^ 



-0S 




% . . If Ye Humble Yourselves" 

by President David O. McKay 



Now, in conclusion of this inspirational con- 
ference, we wish to express once again our 
gratitude to all who have contributed to its 
success including those who have furnished these 
lovely flowers not only for the beauty of the 
flowers themselves, but especially for the spirit 
that prompted the giving. The calla lilies come 
from Berkeley Stake, and the daffodils, from the 
Tacoma Stake through the courtesy of the Puyal- 
lup Daffodil Festival Committee of Tacoma. 

We express appreciation to city officials for 
their efficient care in directing traffic during the 
conference; to the reporters; to radio and tele- 
vision stations, for the service in our own citv and 
state and other states named throughout sessions — 
this service has been the means of permitting 
tens of thousands to hear the proceedings of the 
conference — to the daily papers, here in the city 
and in the state, we express appreciation for their 
co-operation and their efforts accurately to re- 
port the proceedings of this great conference. 

Once again, we express appreciation and grati- 
tude for those groups who have furnished such 
inspiring music — the men's chorus of the Taber- 
nacle Choir last Saturday night; the Tabernacle 
Choir, faithful members, capable, inspiring; the 
Brigham Young University combined choruses. 
You who heard them will join me in expressing 
appreciation of their presence, as well as for their 
inspiring singing; and finally — and how glorious 
it is, to have our conference concluded with their 
singing — we express appreciation to our "Singing 
Mothers." You notice the choir seats are filled, 
and also the two rows extending on each side of 
the gallery. 

I should like to acknowledge with gratitude the 
presence of the Spirit of the Lord. After all, that 
is what makes a conference inspiring. I felt its 
uplifting influence last Saturday morning. It was 
about one hour after this unprecedented snow- 
storm swept over the valley. As Sister McKay 
and I approached the Tabernacle to fill our ap- 



pointment with the Primary Association officers, 
we felt that there would probably be many vacant 
seats. It was snowing, in fact, it was almost a 
blizzard as we entered the Tabernacle. I shall 
never forget the inspiration that I felt as I looked 
over an audience that completely filled this his- 
toric building. 

That morning, two great impressions came to 
my mind. One, that this demonstration of the 
Primary Association is but illustrative of other 
groups in the Church, equally active, equally re- 
sponsible. There came to my mind the saying in 
Ephesians: "And he gave some, apostles; and 
some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, 
pastors and teachers . . ." (Eph. 4:11) and so 
forth. Seven organizations, including two of the 
Aaronic Priesthood, with 273,142 officers and 
teachers — teachers, guides, inspirers, of the mem- 
bership of the Church, engaged in perfecting the 
Saints, working in the ministry, edifying the 
body of Christ. 

When I listened to the Primary workers and 
heard them report several stakes that have one 
hundred percent enrolment, and the officers and 
teachers guiding them and teaching them, I was 
reminded of an article, a story I read twenty years 
ago in one of our national magazines. It is a 
story of a little boy who had wandered from his 
home into the "Badlands" of North Dakota. 

On Tuesday, July 18, 1933, at about three 
o'clock in the afternoon, a little three-year-old 
lad was lost in the Badlands of North Dakota. 
He was bareheaded, barefooted, and wore only a 
pair of coveralls. The Badlands arc noted for 
their pitfalls, canyons, rattlesnake holes, and as 
a rendezvous for wild animals. 

Upon discovering that the little boy was miss- 
ing, his parents began an immediate search. Later 

{Concluded on following page) 

"President McKay's summary address at the April general conference. 
Addresses of all the General Authorities are in the special General 
Conference section, beginning on page 395. 



S^S^OQ^^O^^S^C^C^^^^ 



JUNE 1955 



^xxxA_^j[4 / v vis I %3 JL CwlCts* 



V^CNCsf^sCTsCsGxX 



381 



THE EDITOR'S PAGE 



(Concluded from preceding page) 
in the evening neighbors and friends were notified, an 
all-night search was made. Early Wednesday morning a 
neighbor rode sixteen miles to Walford City to give the 
alarm that a child was lost. Farmers, housewives, shep- 
herds, cowboys, business and professional men, store- 
keepers, Boy and Girl Scouts, law officers without delay 
gathered on the town square at Schafer to hear Sheriff 
Thompson's instructions as follows: 

"We are all going out to the Badlands to find and 
bring back the little Cornell boy. The best way I know 
to do this is for all of us to form into one single line 
and march out there. Each man, woman, and child 
of us will be spaced a few feet from each other. Every hole 
and canyon on the way must be searched. Every 
brush must be examined as we go along. This line, 
friends and neighbors, must not be broken. Every water 
hole, ravine, and cave must be searched thoroughly. 
Every square inch must be scanned by us as we go. It 
is the only way. I don't know how long our search will 
take, but Alfred Cornell is out in the Badlands some- 
where, and when we turn back, the little fellow will be 
with us. We can only hope that we shall not be too 
late. Now, let's get going. I have appointed some of 
you deputies to ride on horseback so that there will be 
no slip-up, and there will be none if I know anything 
about the people of this state." 

The lined formed — at 6:30 Thursday evening the boy 
was found kneeling at a water hole. His legs and feet 
were badly bruised and inflamed. His father and mother 
rushed to him clasping him in their arms and said, "How 
did you like it, lad?" 

"Fine," answered the plucky little fellow and burst 
into tears. 

When that ten-mile-line of human beings saw that 
the boy was found and really alive, a great cheer arose 
from 250 voices. 

They had found that which was lost. They had an- 
swered the challenge, had overcome all obstacles and 
saved a life. 

Two hundred seventy-three thousand, one hundred 
forty-two officers and teachers are assembled in the 
Church of Jesus Christ, going out to search for young 
boys and girls who are in the Badlands of immoral in- 
fluences that surround us. Let us pray God that we 



shall not be too late, and we shall not be if we will honor 
our callings and do our duty as urged upon us through 
this great conference. 

I have time just to summarize the address given by 
King Benjamin at the conclusion of his great address 
as recorded in Mosiah: 

"... I say unto you . . . if ye . . . humble yourselves 
even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of 
the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of 
that which is to come, . . . 

". . . ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love 
of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and 
ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that 
created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just 
and true. 

"And ye will not have a mind to injure one another, 
but to live peaceably, and to render to every man ac- 
cording to that which is his due. 

"And ye will not suffer your children that they go 
hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they trans- 
gress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with 
another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, 
or who is the evil spirit which hath been spoken of by 
our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness. 

"But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth 
and soberness; ye will teach them to love another, and 
to serve one another." (Mosiah 4:11-15.) 

God bless you, officers and teachers of the Church 
in the Church of Jesus Christ. 

May the love of our Redeemer be in each heart, and 
that means that that love will be expressed in serving 
one another, for — 

"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least 
of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me," said 
Christ. (Matt. 25:40.) 

Oh, what love is in your heart this moment as you 
contemplate the greatness and goodness of our Father 
throughout this conference. 

May the Lord continue to bless these brethren of the 
General Authorities, and others who have spoken to us 
during this conference. They represent the hundreds of 
thousands of others in the Church. God bless his work 
here among mankind, that the influence of love and 
good will may radiate from this center throughout the 
whole world, and bring glory to our Father in heaven, 
I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 




382 



THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 




The Iniquity of the Fathers 

by Joseph Fielding Smith 

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 



"I am a teacher of the Gleaner Class. This 
is my first year in this work. We are 
studying the Ten Commandments. Will you give me 
an explanation of the last half of the second command- 
ment, Exodus 20:5? It has seemed to me that the second 
Article of Faith is a direct contradiction of this com- 
mandment." 

The scripture in question is as follows: 
. . . visiting the iniquity ol the lathers 
upon the children unto the third and fourth generation 
of them that hate me." 

The second Article of Faith reads: "We believe that 
men will be punished for their own sins, and not for 
Adam's transgression." 

Adam's transgression was banishment from the pres- 
ence of God and bringing the physical death into the 
world. The majority in the religious world maintains 
that every child born into this world is tainted with 
"original sin," or partakes of Adam's transgression in his 
birth. The second Article of Faith contradicts this fool- 
ish and erroneous doctrine. This has nothing to do 
whatever with the latter part of the second command- 
ment. 

What your question means, as I interpret it, is this: 
You have an idea that the commandment means that 
when a man sins his children will be held responsible 
for his folly and be punished for it, for three or four 
generations. The commandment does not mean any- 
thing of this kind. The Lord never punishes a child 
for its parents' transgressions. He is just and merciful. 
The real meaning of this visiting of the iniquity is that 



when a man transgresses he teaches his children to 
transgress, and they follow his teachings. It is natural 
for children to follow in the practices of their fathers 
and by doing so suffer for the parents' iniquity which 
they have voluntarily brought upon themselves. 
• There are numerous other passages of scripture show- 
ing the mercy and justice of the Lord and that they are 
not to be punished for the fathers' transgression. Here 
are a few: 

"The fathers shall not be put to death for the chil- 
dren, neither shall the children be put to death for 
the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own 
sin." (Deut. 24:16.) 

"But the children of the murderers he slew not: 
according unto that which is written in the book of the 
law of Moses, wherein the Lord commanded saying, The 
fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor 
the children be put to death for the fathers; but every 
man shall be put to death for his own sin." (II Kings 
14:6. Compare II Chron. 25:4.) 

"In those days they shall say no more, The fathers 
have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set 
on edge. 

"But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every 
man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set 
on edge." (Jer. 31:29-30.) 

"The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall 
not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the 
father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness 
of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness 
of the wicked shall be upon him." (Ezek. 18:20.) 



^Jke ^4 



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e 



Richard L. Evans 



No doubt most of us tell ourselves at times what we 
would do differently if we were running the world 
or the universe. We see things and people that should 
be improved, and wrongs that should be righted. Some- 
times we see someone who surely seems to be getting 
away with something. We see inertia, injustice, in- 
difference, delay. We have unanswered questions, and 
our hearts cry out, at times, for the answers — and we 
want them right now — and are sometimes so insistent 
that we sometimes accept substitutes. Sometimes, for 
example, we embrace theories that do not stand the 
test of time, but for the moment seem somewhat to 
satisfy. Sometimes, also, we might feel sure that we 
know precisely what is good for all other men — so sure 
that we might feel justified in forcing them to our 
thinking for them. But the Lord God has given men 
their freedom, and who are we, and how wise would 
we be, to take from them the freedom God has given? 
Part of our impatience comes from seeing only part 



of the picture. We see the present short scenes, but 
have forgotten what preceded our entrance here, and 
are a little loath to wait for the certainties and as- 
surances of everlasting life. Patience isn't an easy 
lesson to learn. But sooner or later, we learn that 
life demands patience. Sooner or later we learn that 
we can't pry open all the answers, or quickly remake 
other men, or take all things into our own hands. And 
sooner or later we also learn that time and justice and 
Providence answer many things in their own way, and 
solve many problems in their own time, and over- 
take all men and all events, and give their own an- 
swers to the things that try and trouble us. Faith, 
patience, and a little time, and a little working at 
what needs working at, will work many miracles, will 
answer many questions, will soften many sorrows, heal 
many wounds, and right many wrongs. Faith and 
patience and time and intelligent work will help us 
to live life with a blessed, settled assurance of the 
Tightness of the ultimate outcome, and will help us 
find the answers we so much seek. 



^Jke J^potet 



WoX. 



le -J poteen Word . FROM TEMPLE SQUARE 
PRESENTED OVER KSL AND THE COLUMBIA BROADCASTING 



SYSTEM, MARCH 27, 1955 



Copyright, 1955 



JUNE 1955 383 



IN THIS ISSUE DR. NIBLEY CONTINUES HIS DIS- 
CUSSION ON A CONSIDERATION OF METHODS IN 



Part VI 



\ 



Oonlrolling fhe Rasf 




by Dr. Hugh Nibley 

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY 



Folly Number Four, continued'. 

In dealing with contemporary lan- 
guages something like a one-to-one 
relationship may be detected in 
limited areas, such as sports and sci- 
ence. Today an Arabic, Greek, Rus- 
sian, English, and French newspaper 
will all dutifully report that a meeting 
is going to "take place" at such and 
such a time, * though the expression 
"take place" is not native to any of 
those languages but one. Still they 
all use it, for they speak an interna- 
tional idiom, the sophisticated lan- 
guage of world civilization. This was 
as true two thousand years ago as 
it is today, and every student has 
wondered why Greek and Latin seem 
so much alike — almost like one lan- 
guage with two alphabets — though 
fundamentally they are as different 
from each other as they are from 
English. Professor Albright has com- 
mented often on the amazing uni- 
formity of the languages of four thou- 
sand years ago — they too had their 
own peculiar world-idiom. 102 As 
Spengler observed,, it is civilizations, 
not cultures, that keep records (alle 
Geschichte ist Stadtgeschichte) ; hence 
the language of the records is the 
language of civilization and at any 
given time reflects a fairly uniform 
equipment of ideas and things, which 
makes the translation of contempo- 
rary languages into each other com- 
paratively mechanical and reliable. 

It is when we want to translate be- 
tween languages separated by a gap 
of thousands of years or even a few 
centuries that the trouble begins. So 
completely does any one-to-one re- 
lationship vanish between languages 
that reflect widely different cultures 
that it may be necessary to translate 
one line of a text by a whole page or 
a page by a single line! 1 "* So much 
for "literal" translation. Where a 
synthetic language must be translated 
into an analytic one or vice versa, 

384 



the idea of literal translation is com- 
pletely annihilated, and the experts 
often declare any translation at all to 
be out of the question. A passage 
from Dieterici shows what we are up 
against: 

In sentence structure the Semites employ 
short, disconnected utterances, expressed 
only by fits or starts, which reflect the sub- 
jective concept only in the most brief and 
sketchy form. The Indogermanic lan- 
guages on the other hand move in well- 
ordered, easily-unfolding periods. The 
Semitic sentence is but the immediate re- 
flection of a subjective idea (Affekt), it is 
only an opinion; the Indogermanic insists 
on the identity of the thought conveyed 
with actual reality. . . . At the institution 
of the sacrament, Christ cannot possibly 
have said anything but "this: my blood, 
this: my flesh," and no one present could 
possibly have misunderstood him. . . . 

Such a nominal sentence (the usual 
thing in Semitic) is utterly untranslatable 
into Greek without the word "esti" (is) 
which of course in the original language 
never existed. 104 

Yet on that esti rests the whole doc- 
trine of transubstantiation. At the 
Marburg disputation Luther, it is 
said, silenced the opposition by writ- 
ing upon the table with a piece of 
chalk: Hoc est corpus meum, with all 
the emphasis on the est, a word which 
in the language of Jesus had no equiv- 
alent! Only to one writing Latin do 
the fine theological distinctions be- 
tween est, ens, essens, essentia, esse, 
etc., have a real, if any, significance, 
and when M. Gilson triumphantly 
defines God at the end of his search 
as "the pure act of being," he is ut- 
tering what, to vast numbers of the 
human race — in whose languages 
"being" is not an act at all and often 
does not even exist as a verb- — would 
be the purest nonsense. The Latin 
fathers often express regret that the 
impossibility of rendering Greek ex- 
pressions into Latin makes it impos- 
sible for them to convey a clear con- 
ception of the Godhead. 105 



Folly Number Five: The Search for 
Shortcuts: Most of the energy and 
determination that should go into 
surmounting the language barrier be- 
tween us and the past is at present 
being expended in ingenious efforts 
to circumvent it. A widespread recog- 
nition of the limitations of translation 
has, for example, produced a con- 
tinual outpouring of bilingual edi- 
tions, with the original text on one 
page and the English facing it on the 
other. Such texts are a pernicious 
nuisance: if one can read the original, 
the translation is an impertinence, if 
not, the original is a rebuke. But worst 
of all the double text is a fiendish de- 
sign for crippling the mind. No one 
ever knows any language as well as 
his own, and when confronted by two 
texts the eye, following the law of 
least resistance, will infallibly gravi- 
tate to the more familiar idiom. I 
defy the best scholar alive to spend 
a week with a Loeb text without los- 
ing a good deal of his confidence and 
independent judgment, for the ready 
translation constantly anticipates and 
thereby conditions all one's reac- 
tions to the clues. 

Then there are special handbooks 
and courses designed to reduce the 
language barrier to a minimum by 
confining all effort to an assault on 
one single book, typical offerings be- 
ing Biblical Aramaic, New Testament 
Greek, Homeric Greek, Legal Latin, 
etc. In these special courses, special 
grammars and special dictionaries, 
we are told just what the text is go- 
ing to say before we read it. If it 
does not say just that for us, we have 
learned our lesson badly. But if we 
know exactly what the original text 
is going to tell us before we open it, 
why bother to open it at all? We 
are told exactly how to react to every 
word, when the whole purpose of our 
study is to enjoy an independent re- 
action. 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



Hardly much better are standard 
grammars and dictionaries. They can 
get the student started on his way, 
but they accompany him only the 
first few steps of his journey. The 
excellence of the great scholars of the 
Renaissance and after, lay in their 
early discovery that there is no such 
thing as the correct dictionary mean- 
ing of a word. For the most part, 
grammars and lexicons are loaded 
dice: they are tip-offs on the clues, 
preconditioning the reader and pre- 
cluding independent reaction to the 
text. Professor Gardiner shows us the 
limitation of all mechanical helps 
when he explains why the transla- 
tion of Egyptian is so hard: 

The meaning of the large majority of 
words employed is either already known, or 
else can be elicited through comparison with 
other examples; but not the precise nuances 
of meaning, its general direction and its 
approximate emotional quality. . . . The 
only basis we can have for preferring one 
rendering to another, when once the 
exigencies of grammar and dictionary have 
been satisfied — and these leave a large 
margin for divergencies — is an intuitive ap- 
preciation of the trend of the ancient writer's 
mind. A very precarious basis, all will ad- 
mit. 106 

If language followed natural laws, 
-*- then the area of intuition might be 
reduced to nothing and a machine 
for perfect translation be devised. But 
one of the greatest charms of language 
is that it may be used waywardly, 
wantonly, whimsically, ironically, 
subtlely, inanely, or literally to any 
degree which a writer chooses- — -and 
it is the greatest masters of language 
that take the most liberties with it. 
The very purpose of literature is to 
annihilate boredom, and for most peo- 
ple the rules of grammar are a bore. 
The rigid rules of grammar infallibly 
suggest naughty tricks to the creative 
mind, which loves to crack the mold 
of usage upon which the whole regu- 
larity of language depends. And once 
the genius has struck off in a new 
direction the million promptly and 
gladly follow him, and in their dog- 
matic, unimaginative way turn the 
new grammatical felony into a law 
of grammar. 107 Thus in an endless 
antiphonal the spirit rebukes the let- 
ter, and the letter checks the spirit, 



and by the time the machine has 
caught up with the mind, the mind is 
already two jumps ahead of it. 

This endless game effectively dis- 
qualifies another device by which stu- 
dents have hoped to circumvent the 
language obstacle. This is the study of 
linguistics. The arbitrariness of lan- 
guage makes all the general laws sub- 
ject to change without notice. In 
linguistics one is everlastingly discov- 
ering and demonstrating the two 
principles, (1) that people are very 
conservative, and (2) that in spite of 
that, rules do get broken. If the 
human race were absolutely conserva- 
tive, we could have reliable rules of 
language. 108 But fortunately the very 
men and women who take the most 
liberties with language are those who 
have the most influence upon it: The 
people who make the rules are the 
people who break them. 

A belated attempt to remove the 
language barrier is the invention of 
simplified languages, such as basic 
English, and of new international 
idioms such as Esperanto, Volapuk, 
and Interlingua. These languages 
prove what we should have known 
long ago: that the languages men 
speak today are much harder than 
they ever need to be, that people like 
it that way, and that they find lan- 
guage devoid of challenge to be taste- 
less to the point of nausea. After all, 
language, as its name tells us, is some- 
thing that is on the tongue — it must 
have flavor, and a body, or we spit 
it out. This was even truer in an- 
cient times: "What the evidence sug- 
gests," writes Lord Raglan, "is that 
the originators, not of language but 
of all known languages, were people 
of acute and fertile minds who took a 
pride and a pleasure in working out 
complex grammatical systems, sys- 
tems which merely as a means of 
communication are quite unneces- 
sary. . . ." 109 We may find such arti- 
ficiality regrettable, but let us not for- 
get that all language is artificial — 
there is no rule in speech, any more 
than there is in music, that genius 
must work with instruments that na- 
ture alone has created. 

The language of Homer, Virgil, the 
Eddas, and the Qasidas is pure pro- 



fessional jargon, about as artificial as 
a thing can be. While the evolution- 
ists think of language as a tool, the 
human race itself resents functional - 
ism in language as it does in dress. 

The value of a language is not to be 
measured by its efficiency: The 
greatest languages are the hardest. 
The operation of a hard grammatical 
apparatus requires a certain minimum 
of mental effort, even of those who 
have grown up with the language 
(does the fact that English is our 
mother tongue make the spelling of 
English easy for us?); it guarantees 
a degree of cerebration which easier 
languages do not. The mere state- 
ment of a thing in some languages is 
a mental challenge. The Romans 
envied the superior difficulty of Greek 
and did their best to make their own 
language like it. Their writings dis- 
play a conscious mental effort which 
they positively enjoyed and which is 
the chief stimulus of Latin to this 
day — one never misses a sense of ex- 
ercise, of stretching one's mental mus- 
cles, which is disturbingly lacking in 
some less vertebrate languages. Look- 
ing at a page of Latin one can read- 
ily see that almost every word has a 
familiar root and that the story might 
be very simply and easily told as in 
Spanish or French. Yet superimposed 
over the whole page, like a compli- 
cated template over a map, is a gram- 
matical pattern so laborious and arbi- 
trary that the best scholars must spend 
hours trying to figure out simple sen- 
tences. And this tough and annoying 
apparatus is entirely unnecessary. It 
shows us that -language does more . 
than fill a need for elementary com- 
munication. It is mankind's other- 
world, a dream world, the playing- 
field, the parade ground, the shady 
retreat, the laboratory, the theater, 
the forum, the mirror of the cosmos; 
we must allow it infinite scope and 
infinite ambition. Along with that it 
is also a tool, a means of communica- 
tion of man not only with his fellows 
but also with himself. This. takes us 

4. Beyond the Gadgets _ 

riio-DAY we have machines that do 

-*- most of our calculations for us. 

(Continued on following page) 




JUNE 1955 



lAIWIIWIAIIIIAIWWIAAIWWWtflAIIAIIIWyWWWWV 



385 



(Continued from preceding page) 
IBM machine "702" is now ready to 
take over all the functions of account- 
ing and bookkeeping in a world which 
lives by those disciplines. 110 At a 
total of only six percent of present 
capital outlay, it is estimated, all the 
big industry of the United States 
could be operated almost entirely by 
mechanical controls. Three cheers! 
What a machine can do, that a ma- 
chine should do. But what remains 
for us? Science without gadgets! 
That we can do some things that no 
machine can or conceivably ever could 
do — therein lies our true dignity and 
destiny as human beings. The check- 
ing and ushering and bookkeeping, 
all the automatic and repetitious 
things that make up the day's work 
for most modern men, have no busi- 
ness being done by living people; 
some day they may be done as they 
should be by machines, and then 
men can really get down to business. 
Yet for most of us such a prospect 
is simply terrifying. The busy work 
that rightfully belongs to the machine 
is the refuge of the timid mind, and 
it is to the gadgetry of scholarship — 
the pretentious secretarial tasks of 
compiling, annotating, copying, check- 
ing, abridging, and the rest — that the 
academic world clings today with a 
sort of desperation. Regiments of 
workers equipped with costly machin- 
ery are busy searching out, digging 
up, acquisitioning, classifying, cata- 
loging, preserving, reproducing, dis- 
seminating, explaining, displaying, 
and even selling the documents of the 
past — doing every conceivable thing 
with the documents but reading them! 
They are waiting for the reading 
machine that will never come. Three 
hundred and fifty years ago Joseph 
Scaliger could read more ancient texts 
and comprehend what he read more 
clearly than any scholar in the world 
today. Scientists can stand on the 
shoulders of those who have gone be- 
fore, but not humanists. The latest 
text in astronomy supersedes and sup- 
plants whole shelves of earlier text- 
books, but the humanist must start 
with his ABC's and read on, page by 
page, through the very same litera- 
ture that Casaubon and Lipsius had 
to wade through centuries ago. Sum- 
maries, condensations, and transla- 
tions will help him not at all, for 
they are only opinions and bound to 
be out of date. A rapid skimming of 

386 



CONTROLLING THE PAST 

the stuff is out of the question. What 
a joyful thing to contemplate — the 
one boundless task left to man in the 
universe! 111 

During the past century repeated 
attempts have been made to handle 
the vast and ever-growing bulk of 
stuff bequeathed us by the ancients 
by certain ingenious experiments in 
repackaging. Against a roar of pro- 
test Lord Acton introduced the study 
of history at Cambridge, but this did 
not reduce but only added to the 
amount of. materials to be handled by 
the conscientious student. Today 
ambitious men would grasp the whole 
message of the human record by re- 
packaging it in this or that social sci- 
ence: the packages are impressively 
tied and labeled— but there is very 
little in them, and nothing of the 
original source material that makes up 
the vast preponderance of the field 
notes and lab notes of the human 
race. A new school of archaeology is 
trying to grasp the same prize, claim- 
ing that they can discover the past 
simply by looking at pictures — which 
is much easier than reading texts. 
Leading archaeologists are loudly de- 
ploring this tendency, which is bound 
to become as popular as it is futile. 
While any text may be meaningful 
without pictures (though illustrations 
are always welcome), no picture can 
convey its real meaning without ref- 
erence to some text: to abolish the 
text is to abolish archaeology, and to 
abolish the original language is to 
abolish the text. The glamorous 
package, a great aid to salesmanship, 
has no place in scholarship: it will 
do nothing either to surmount or cir- 
cumvent the language barrier. 

But you can't expect people to learn 
scores of languages to be able to sur- 
vey the past! They don't need to. 
It is one of the delightful compen- 
sations to the student "willing to go 
the hard way that Providence, as if 
taking pity on his plight and con- 
cerned lest the staggering accumula- 
tions of the past go neglected in an 
inextricable maze of hundreds of for- 
gotten languages, had removed the 
difficulty by a most marvelous de- 
vice: the world language. 

One wishing to study twentieth 
century world civilization could do so 
knowing one language alone- — Eng- 
lish — and he would pretty well have 
to know that. But English still has 
serious competitors as a world lan- 



guage, and it has only been on top 
for forty years. Imagine, then, how 
important our language would be if 
it had been the only world language, 
without competitors, for a thousand 
years! What if for ten centuries 
everything of any importance that 
was thought or said in the western 
world had to be said and written 
down in English. Well, for a thou- 
sand years Latin actually was the one 
language of the West, while at the 
same time Arabic ruled the East. And 
before that for another thousand 
years — the most creative period of 
all — Greek was the common world 
language of East and West. And be- 
fore that for yet another thousand 
years, a common Semitic idiom was 
the learned and diplomatic language 
of the world. The greatest and most 
significant works of the human mind, 
as well as the smallest and most in- 
significant efforts of the schoolmen, 
are almost all recorded in a few lan- 
guages, and the records of the past 
run not into unnumerable linguis- 
tic puddles to be searched out and 
correlated but are conveniently chan- 
neled into a few vast, all inclusive 
reservoirs. This should make it clear 
why a knowledge of certain languages 
is absolutely indispensable to any 
serious study of the past, and why 
their neglect has led to a serious crip- 
pling of all our efforts to get a con- 
vincing picture of what men have 
really been doing and thinking 
through the ages. The gadgets will 
never answer that question for us. 

But if scholarship is not a slide- 
rule science, it has certain controls 
which any science might envy. An- 
tiquity is a romantic study; it has an 
irrestible appeal to the glamor hunter 
and the poseur; everybody wants to 
get into the act. The result is a 
chaos of clashing ambitions and wasp- 
ish tempers, with amateurs and "pro- 
fessionals" everlastingly accusing each 
other of stupidity and humbug. With- 
out a governor the humanities get 
completely and quickly out of hand. 
But in language we have perfect con- 
trol: The man who can read off the 
ancient text you place before him is 
not likely to be an irresponsible 
crackpot. The rigid check on the 
scholar does not lie in the judgment 
of his fellows — scholars band easily 
together into groups and schools and 
conform their thinking to that of pre- 

(Continued on page 455) 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



Activities in Kirtland 

Chapter IV 

Students of Church history have 
long debated the membership sta- 
tus of Martin Harris. Writers 
and speakers, almost to the man, have 
said that while Oliver Cowdery and 
David Whitmer were excommuni- 
cated from the Church, such formal 
action was never taken against the 
other witness, Martin Harris, who 
also drifted away from the teachings 
and the practices of the Church. 

Perhaps this view is taken because 
Elder William Harrison Homer saw 
Martin Harris in Kirtland, Ohio, in 
December 1869, as Elder Homer re- 
turned from a mission in England. 
Upon reaching Salt Lake City, Elder 
Homer, accompanied by his father, 
reported to Brigham Young that Mar- 
tin Harris desired to come to Utah. 
The President was pleased. He spoke 
of Martin Harris' contribution to the 
Church, and ended with this state- 
ment: ". . . when the Church came 
West, Martin Harris remained be- 
hind. It is true that Martin Harris 
did not apostatize; he was never tried 
for his fellowship; he was never ex- 
communicated." 1 

Research at the Church Historian's 
Office in Salt Lake City in recent 
years has turned up evidence that 
seems to prove otherwise. There is 
a letter dated January 1, 1838, written 
by Elder John Smith from Kirtland, 
Ohio, to his son Elder George A. 
Smith, then serving a mission in 
Shinnston, Harrison County, Virginia. 
(It is now West Virginia.) It is a 
newsy letter, the kind that mission- 
aries like to receive from home. Here 
are two paragraphs from it: 

. . . The spiritual condition at this time 
is gloomy also. I called the High Council 
together last week and laid before them the 
case of dissenters. Twenty-eight persons 
were, upon mature discussion, cut off from 
the Church. The leaders were Cyrus Small- 
ing, Joseph Coe, Martin Harris, Luke S. 



iTHE Improvement Era (Salt Lake City 1926) 
29:471. 




The Kirtland Temple, dedicated in March 
1836, was the first temple built by the Latter- 
day Saints. 



Johnson, John F. Boynton, and W. W. Par- 
rish. 

We have cut off between forty and fifty 
from the Church since you left. Thus you 
see the Church has taken a mighty pruning, 
and we think she will soon rise in the great- 
ness of her strength. . . . a 

John Smith and his son, George A. 
Smith, were the great-grandfather and 
grandfather of the late President 
George Albert Smith. 

Difficult times abounded both in 
the land and in the Church in 1837. 



2 Journal History, January 1, 1838. Luke S. Johnson 
and John F. Boynton, listed in this letter, were mem- 
bers of the Council of the Twelve. 




Tijwif m 



.'.,.■;■ 






M 



Apostasy was running rampant in the 
Church, one of the contributing 
factors being the financial panic in the 
land. 

In 1836, the Saints in Kirtland 
undertook to form the Kirtland Safety 
Society. It was to be an industrial 
stock company, with the management 
placed in the hands of respective oc- 
cupations: agriculture, mechanical 
arts, and merchandising. The articles 
of incorporation included some farsee- 
ing principles which would have been 
very beneficial to the stockholders had 
this society continued. Paper currency, 
or due bills, was issued by the society 
as was the custom in that day. When 
the financial panic broke in 1837, this 
company collapsed before it had really 
begun to operate fully. The collapse 
was hurried by dishonest employees. 
Each stockholder was obligated, under 
the terms of the agreement, to re- 
deem the currency issued to the ex- 
tent of his holdings in the concern. 
But many of the shareholders had ob- 
tained their stock by pledging lands 
at their prevailing inflated values. 3 
The "bubble had broken" land and 
other values had evaporated over- 
night and conditions in Kirtland, as 
elsewhere in the nation, were bad. In 
Kirtland the leaders of the Church 
were blamed by the "man on the 
street." 

During the financial panic of 1837, 
when apostasy 'ran so high in Kirt- 
land and several of the Twelve Apos- 
tles turned against the Prophet with 
false accusations and sought his over- 
throw, it was Brigham Young who 
stood firm and loyal, declaring that 
Joseph Smith was the Prophet of God. 
So intense was the hatred against 
Brigham Young for this bold stand 
that he had to leave Kirtland for his 
own safety. He departed December 
22, - 1837, and arrived among the 
Saints in Far West, Missouri, March 
14, 1838. The headquarters of the 
Church was soon transferred from 
Ohio to Missouri. 4 Brigham Young 
was not in Kirtland at the time that 
John Smith wrote that letter, nor had 
he been for about ten days. Certain- 
ly he must have been told of such 
action against Martin Harris, but the 
fast-moving events between 1838 and 
1870 could have crowded it from his 



memory. 



(Continued on page 462) 



^Mm^MBMM 



JUNE 1955 



3 John A. Widtsoe, Gospel Interpretations — Evidences 
and Reconciliations II (Salt Lake City 1947), p. 143. 

4 Andrew Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia 
(Salt Lake City 1901), 1:10. 

387 




"You shouldn't consider going back to work until 
you can wake up feeling young and eager to start the 
day." 



Irma Had a Headache 



Lorraine R. Manderscheid 



Irma Jacobs unclenched her shak- 
ing hands and determinedly rolled 
fresh paper into the typewriter. 
But when she lifted her hands to be- 
gin typing again, it was as if her 
fingers had forgotten where to find 
the needed keys. If only my head 
would stop throbbing, she thought. 
Maybe a drink of water would help. 
As she rose from her chair, the room 
went black and began to whirl. She 
grabbed at the edge of her desk and 
hung on. There was a crash as Mr. 
Holbrook knocked his chair over in 
his haste to reach her. 

It was like him to be concerned. 
"Shall I take you to your doctor?" 
Irma shook her head. "Then at least 
you must take the rest of the after- 
noon off." 

"You're very thoughtful, Mr. Hol- 
brook. I think I will go home though, 
if you won't mind too much." She 

388 



covered her typewriter, picked up her 
purse, and walked out with a part- 
ing smile of reassurance for her em- 
ployer. 

But out in the sunlight, her head 
began to whirl again. She leaned 
against a building trying to think 
what to do. It occurred to her that 
she might check with her doctor after 
all. His office was just up the street. 

Irma was surprised at the questions 
Dr. Hemingway asked. Did she 
sleep well? Had she been getting 
emotional over trifles? Did she feel 
tired even after a night's rest? 

"But it's only a bad headache, Dr. 
Hemingway. Of course, I have been 
awfully tired. Sometimes I can't re- 
member when I wasn't tired. I feel 
that if just one more thing upset me, 
I'd — I'd simply fall in a heap and 
cry." 

"Except you never do. You prob- 



ably just clench your teeth and go 
on with what needs to be done. I've 
known- you for- a long time, Irma, 
and I definitely feel that you should 
take a long rest. Oh, you can do a 
little around the house, but this try- 
ing to run a home and an office, too, 
is getting to be just a bit too much. 
You shouldn't consider going back to 
work until you can wake up feeling 
young and eager to start your day." 

Irma examined a broken fingernail 
intently. She just couldn't quit work. 
Not now! Not until she had saved 
about three hundred more dollars! 
For the sake of her three teen-agers, 
she'd have to hang on that much 
longer. "I'll think it over, doctor, and 
thank you so much." 

She walked dizzily home, forcing 

one foot before the other, thinking 

to herself that so much of life was 

like this walk. You make yourself 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



struggle to one goal and then to an- 
other. She had taken the job so they 
could clear up some bills that had 
been worrying Brice for a long time. 
And then the old refrigerator groaned 
and quit. Now it was the living 
room. She felt that if they had some 
decent furnishings for the house, the 
children might want to stay home 
more. Maybe they'd invite their 
friends in. Of course, it was possible 
that all teen-agers were like that — 
dash in and throw their books down 
and mumble something about going 
over to somebody's and hurry out. 
She hardly knew them any more. 
Sometimes she thought she should 
try to find out about things, but they 
shrugged her off. If she could buy 
a lovely new living room suite, new 
drapes, and hmmm — maybe even 
wall-to-wall carpeting— that should 
create a nice atmosphere. But three 
hundred would never do all that. 
She'd have to work a little longer 
than she had thought. 

Opening the front door, she glanced 
about appraisingly. It was pretty 
bad. The old green couch looked as 
if it were preparing to cough its 
stuffing out on to the rug. The poor 
faded rug hugged itself in the center 
of the floor, and the drapes hung 
limp and forlorn as if they echoed 
her own fatigue. 

Irma was about to fit her weary 
body to the lumps of the couch when 
seventeen-year-old Jill opened the 
front door. The look of surprised 
guilt on the young face made her 
mother wonder. "Uh — hello, Mom. 
I — uh — just got home a little early." 
Irma wondered why coming home 
from school early should make her 
daughter look like that. "Is any- 
thing wrong, Jill? I mean, is there 
something you should tell me?" 

"No. Should there be?" Her 
voice was carefully polite. 

' Maybe I just imagined it, Irma 
thought. Still that expression on 
Jill's face stayed in her mind. An 
hour or so later, long, leggy Anthon 
clattered up the steps, his books un- 
der one arm. She opened the door. 
"Why, Anthon," she said, "is your 
bicycle broken? I thought you al- 
ways rode it to school." The boy's 
eyes glanced hastily about. "Yeah. 
Yeah, that's it. It's — uh, can't ride 
it any more." He disappeared into 
his room. 

His mother walked out into the 
garage to see just what was wrong 
with the bike. It wasn't there. Irma 
JUNE 1955 



began to feel sick. Had her children 
been concealing some dreadful thing? 
She met her fifteen-year-old on the 
front walk. Faye seemed surprised 
to see her home, and then her face 
fell into its habitual expression of 
bored tolerance. Irma looked closely 
to see if there was anything else in 
her face but turned away unsatisfied. 

"Faye, I don't know if you had 
planned to go anywhere, but I'd like 
you to be home when Daddy comes. 
Will you find Anthon and Jill and 
tell them, too? I think we should 
all have a talk." 

Faye sounded horrified. "What 
for, Mother? Has something — I mean, 
did you—?" 

Irma looked quickly at her daugh- 
ter. Now it was Faye with that 
hunted expression. Irma put her 
hands over her face and sank down 
on the step. Maybe it was just her 
dizzy, aching head. She must be 
having some sort of collapse. Faye's 
steps hesitated and then went into 
the house. Irma heard the car door 
slam. That would be Brice. Now 
if he did it, too, she'd know the 
trouble was in her own mind. But 
her husband pulled her to her feet 
and looked into her eyes with con- 
cern. "Sweetheart, is something 
wrong?" 

Irma burst into tears. He led her 
over to the swing where the vines 
covered the porch, "It can't be so 
terrible, Irma honey. Now don't 
cry." 



Brice didn't interrupt as she told 
him her worries about the children. 
He sat for a few moments staring in 
concentration. "I've known for a 
long time, Irma, that we weren't 
staying close enough to our children 
and their problems. Often I've 
thought surely next week things 
wouldn't be so pressing and we could 
find time for the kids. But the 
merry-go-round of work seems to 
whirl faster than ever. Shall we call 
them out and see what we can do 
now?" 

Brice stepped to the door and 
called. The three settled themselves 
on the porch steps, their faces utterly 
expressionless. 

"Do you children remember the 
family conferences we used to have 
when you were younger? We'd all 
work out our problems together." 
Brice sounded stilted and nervous. 
"I've felt for a long time that Mother 
and I weren't spending enough time 
with you." He cleared his throat 
carefully. "Parents aren't experts 
on living, but there are things we 
can help with. Mother and I would 
like to know if you have any prob- 
lems that — ahem — well, any prob- 
lems." 

Anthon 's chin was drawn far down 
in his collar. Jill had turned her 
face to one side, and Faye's head was 
lying on her arms. Irma heard Jill 
mutter something in an undertone to 
Anthon. Otherwise there was si- 
lence. (Continued on page 456) 




The look of surprised gui 



e young face made her mother wonder. 



389 



How would you handle a family of 
ten children? "Ten Angels for 
Christmas" by Rosemary Jones 
and photographs by Ruth Orkin 
(Ladies' Home Journal, December 
1954, covers eight pages, twelve pic- 
tures) tells the story of the Ray and 
Marvel Crookston family of Logan, 
Utah. With ten children, ten years 
of age and younger the Crookstons 
solve their family problems with a 
fresh spirit and enthusiasm. They 
pay a full tithe and still meet their 
economic problems successfully. A 
detailed account is given of a wonder- 
ful Christmas of the family. "Ac- 
cording to Mormon faith, mortal life 
is only a small part of the long life 
of the spirit. The Crookstons do not 
worry about the temporary difficul- 
ties that might beset children in this 
world. They work to give them the 
security of a happy childhood, and 
hope that this security will be great 
enough to cushion them in adult life. 
The Mormon principle of the 'eternal 
family' lies behind all the Crookstons 
think and do." 

A Navajo boy when asked why he 
was stepping in the medicine man's 
tracks replied, "I do what my father 
has done before me. I walk in the 
footsteps of one who is great, who 
does much good, that my life in the 
day of my manhood may be one of 
greatness, bravery and strength." So 
tells Elder Benson in "Walking in 
Our Footsteps." (Scouting, published 
by Boy Scouts of America, November 
1954, three pages.) Then outlining 
the philosophy of scouting through 
the Scout oath and the development of 
citizenship and leadership he closes 
with an appeal to service: 

"To awaken the youth of this land, 
and to rekindle in the hearts of its 
leaders the high ideals of Scouting is 
to render the greatest of all good serv- 
ices to our country. To guide aright 
these millions of eager, yearning, ac- 
tive youth, and the many more who 
might be added, is the mightiest of 
obligations; to win their confidence, 
one of the greatest responsibilities of 
life. 

"Can we, as men, refuse such a 
challenge? Are we so busy and self- 
centered that we cannot take time out 
to help build a bridge for that boy? 
Scouting offers us that challenge. It 
is a tremendous test of leadership, 
devotion, and courage. Is that nobility 
within us going to rise up in majesty 
and answer the call? I have faith in 
the manhood of America. We will 
not let our boys down!" 

390 



In "The Best Advice I Ever Had" 
Elder Benson tells (Reader's Digest, 
November 1954, three pages) of his 
father's familiar counsel, "All through 
my life the counsel to depend on 
prayer has been prized above any 
other advice I have ever received. It 
has become an integral part of me, an 
anchor, a constant source of strength." 
He then relates three answers to 
prayer faith-promoting incidents and 
says: 

"It is soul-satisfying to know that 
God is mindful of us and ready to 
respond when we place our trust in 
him and do that which is right. There 
is no place for fear among men and 
women who place their trust in the 
Almighty, who do not hesitate to 
humble themselves in seeking divine 
guidance through prayer. ... If I 
could wish for anyone a priceless gift, 
it would not be wealth, profound wis- 
dom or the honors of men. I would 
rather pass on the key to inner 
strength and security which my father 
gave to me when he advised, 'Receive 
aid through prayer.' " 

"To the world, David O. McKay 
is a dignified spiritual leader; but 
behind the scenes he is a laughter- 
loving individual, a man of action and 
one of the nation's top business execu- 
tives as well" is part of the biograph- 
ical sketch by L. Glen Snarr in 




— A Monkmeyer Photo 
"There are organizations within the 
Church that provide for study, for service, 
and for cultural and recreational activi- 
ties. . . ." 



Mormons 

in the 

Magazines 



by Franklin S. Harris Jr. 



"McKay of the Mormons." (Coronet, 
April 1954, four pages.) This ac- 
count is illustrated by incidents and 
tells of President McKay's early life, 
education, his service to community 
and Church, his joy in life, and the 
vitality and other qualities which have 
made him so beloved of his own 
Church and made so many friends 
around the world. 

"It's an Old Mormon Custom" is 
the title of a photographic essay by 
Cal Bernstein (Harvester World, pub- 
lication of the International Harvester 
Co., November-December 1954, eight 
pages and thirty pictures). By the 
large number of excellent pictures and 
well-chosen words an excellent re- 
porting job gives a short history and 
clear insight into many of the activi- 
ties which characterize the Latter- 
day Saint way of life. Use is made of 
such phrases as: 

"If you're a Mormon, you pray hard 
and you work hard. You farm or you 
mine or you conduct your business 
with almost the same zeal as you 
worship. To work hard, pray hard, 
Latter-day Saints have their an- 
cestors' zeal and zest. . . . It's an old 
Mormon custom ... to honor the 
pioneers ... to volunteer service on 
the church farm ... to feed the needy 
... to keep a two-year food supply 
... to take care of the aged ... to be 
self-sufficient ... to raise large fam- 
ilies ... to trace family histories . . . 
to keep out of debt ... to spend one 
night a week at home with the family 
. . . being neighborly ... to rely on 
modern equipment to bring in their 
crops. 

"Mormonism is more than a re- 
ligion. It is an entire society, a 
homogenous culture in itself." 

"What Is a Mormon?" is the first 
of 27 questions asked of Elder Richard 
L. Evans (Look, October 5, 1954, 5 

(Concluded on page 476) 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



.In si the GROOM 



by Christie Lund Coles 




The arm was worn from Kent's leg being thrown across it so many times when he 
sat and studied or ate an apple, or just stared out of the window. 



Julia looked down the street. She 
saw the florist's truck stop at her 
friend, Ada's home. With a ter- 
rible, sinking sensation she saw the 
driver take the flowers in — corsages, 
delicately covered with green tissue; 
bouquets with ribbons, baskets. 

The day was here — the wedding 
day! Somehow, she had kept hoping 
something might postpone it. Kent 
seemed so very young, too young to 
take on the responsibilities. He was 
still just a boy, her boy. 

They were going to the temple, 
and she loved Rosemary who would 
be the most beautiful bride imagi- 
nable, but she couldn't help feeling 
that they weren't quite ready. 

She sank into the deep maroon 
chair where the arm was worn from 
Kent's leg being thrown across it so 
many times . . . when he sat and 
studied or ate an apple or just stared 
out of the window, often waiting for 
Rosemary to come from her dancing 
or piano lesson. 

If he saw her turning the corner, 
he was up, dashing out of the back 
door, pretending he had been outside 
all the while. When she neared, he 
JUNE 1955 



would say, "Hi," casually, and saun- 
ter to the front hedge as though he 
were doing her a favor, though his 
mother could see the tiny freckles 
stand out against his sudden pale- 
ness. Often, he would call to the 
house, "Want anything at the store, 
Mom?" 

She would manufacture a need in 
her head, say, "Why, yes, there is." 
He would come in, seize the money, 
and just as he was ready to dash out 
again, he would glance in the hall 
mirror and with the flat of his hand 
smooth down the hair just above his 
left ear. Seeing her watching him, 
he would flush, then grin, as she 
smiled with love and understanding. 

And she did love him very much. 
People said to Rosemary's mother, 
"You'll be getting a son," and she 
knew he would be a good son to her 
friend, Ada. But what could Ada 
know of the years that they had 
shared? No more than she could 
share Rosemary's and her mother's 
intimate years! 

There was the time Kent had 
pneumonia, and he wanted her hand 
in his small, hot one almost con- 



stantly. When he began to recover 
he told her, "I thought you were an 
angel." 

She had touched his dark hair, un- 
able to speak. After a moment he 
lifted his hand and ran it weakly 
across the side of his head, and she 
knew he was going to be all right. 
But his hand was so small. 

She remembered one day when 
she had been out of patience with 
him. He was little more than a 
baby but she said, foolishly, "No, no, 
Mama won't like." 

Looking at her with his soft eyes, 
he said incredulously, "But I like 
you" 

It seemed such a brief time now 
since Rosemary moved into the neigh- 
borhood, since he took her to school 
the first day, holding her hand in 
innocence and gentleness. The days 
when they swung together, skated. 
His tenth birthday when he didn't 
want a party but only wanted her to 
come to dinner! Julia had seen him 
slicked and shined, and smiled, not 
dreaming that in eleven more years 
he would be marrying her. He had 
{Continued on page 459) 
391 



Its Smart 

to be a 
Latter-day Saint 

by LaRue Longden 

COUNSELOR, YWMIA PRESIDENCY 



I'd like to see something in a 
formal dress for my daughter." 
A beaming, very proud mother 
smiled at the equally beaming sales- 
woman, who was anxious to make a 
sale. Dress after dress was brought 
and displayed. It was plain to see 
there just wasn't anything that ap- 
pealed to either mother or daughter. 
By now the clerk wasn't quite as 
beaming and with a trifle of an edge 
in her voice inquired, "Just what did 
you have in mind?" The adorable 
young girl quickly answered, "Well, 
you see, I am to be queen at one of the 
fraternity dances. I'd like something 
very lovely, but a little more modest 
than these." Bless her! I didn't 
know her, but I really felt like I must 
rush up and squeeze her and say to 
her, "Whoever you are, wherever you 
come from, you are wonderful! Al- 
ways stay as sweet as you are!" 

The edge went out of the clerk's 
voice, and a knowing sparkle seemed 
to come into her eyes. "I think I 
know what you mean." Then there 
was a conference, and they were 
shown several dresses that could be 
fixed in a way to make them modest 
and much more beautiful. When 
they left to go and look elsewhere, 
the clerk said something that made 
me stop and think, "If there were 
more girls like her, this would be a 
better world." And, there are a lot 
more girls like this one. I knew one 
who was to be made queen of a civic 
festival, and when they showed her 
the dress she was to wear, she said 
"May I design my own dress? I am 
sure my Church wouldn't go along 
with this one. I've never worn one 
like that." Sweet courage of a girl 

392 



who really knows how smart it is to 
be a Latter-day Saint! The dress she 
designed was gorgeous and smart. 
She did not let down all the Latter- 
day Saint girls in her community and 
in the Church. 

As I have talked with girls over 
the Church about the subject of dress, 
I have found they are not quite sure 
what stand to take. Some of their 
mothers have told them, "You are 
only young once; your lovely body is 
beautiful. It is now or never if you 
want to wear one of 'those' dresses." 
For such mothers and daughters who 
are not "quite sure," I would remind 
them that the Prophet Brigham 
Young said, "If I were a lady and 
had a piece of cloth to make me a 
dress, I would cut it so as to cover 
my person handsomely and neatly 
and whether it was cut according to 
the fashion, or not, custom would 
soon make it beautiful." Further, he 
said, "The Lord never said to us, 
'Don't make a silk or satin ribbon, or 
fine broadcloth,' but he has said to 
us, 'Make the articles of clothing that 
you wear.' If we don't, we shall 
find by and by that we shall not be 
able to get them." (Discourses of 
Brigham Young, 1925, p. 333.) That 
time is almost here, isn't it, when we 
are unable to buy what we can wear! 

One time we were being shown a 
young girl's wardrobe which she was 
taking away to school, "These are 
my school formals. I am taking this 
one to wear to the Gold and Green 
Ball and other Church dances." Oh, 
me! When are we going to get smart 
and simply be ourselves, whether in 
school, in Church, or wherever? We 
send our daughters to school to learn 
the 3 r's. They major in home eco- 
nomics, in the arts, in the sciences; 
we teach them to be personally 
fastidious to a fault. Somehow we 
have "missed the boat" when it comes 
to putting over the lesson of real 
modesty, the sacredness of our bodies. 

In the matter of health habits we 
set the world a real example. We 
have an opportunity to do real mis- 
sionary work by just looking like Lat- 
ter-day Saints, because we are styl- 
ishly, yet modestly clothed. 

There are so many ways to lick 
the problem of dress. Of course, we 
want our girls and our women to 
look beautiful, as the prophet of the 
Lord has suggested they should, but 
we need to understand true beauty. 

In one stake a very wonderful 
woman spends every Monday evening 



helping the girls of her stake and 
their mothers to design, cut, and sew 
their own dresses. I have seen some 
of these clothes, and they truly are 
smart and beautiful. They could 
well have a place in any of the top 
fashion magazines. In another stake, 
an enterprising young businesswoman 
has set up a business remodeling 
ready-made dresses, making them fit 
our standards. 

The movies, television, and maga- 
zines make our precious girls very 
clothes-conscious. I wish they would 
try a formula that worked for me. 
I decided to make a scrapbook of 
pictures of modest clothes, sport, 
street, afternoon, and evening. I 
found pictures from all of the top 
fashion magazines, and believe it or 




A young Latter-day Saint girl typifying 
'It's Smart to Be a Latter-day Saint." 



not, there were as many modest 
dresses as there were "uncovered 
look" ones. 

I had a letter from a lovely young 
bride in California who asked why 
we didn't somewhere publish ideas 
for women on how to make or re- 
model clothes so they would fit our 
standards. I would like to suggest 
that each of us use our own ingenuity 
and fix our clothes to fit our own 
personality. We who have been to 
the temple and have received our 
(Continued on page 454) 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 




Dearest Dad, 



m s you might guess, I've been think- 
/l ing the past few days about 
■£* fathers. I have come to the con- 
clusion, and to me it is a startling 
one, that all the things for which I 
thank my Heavenly Father are things 
which I would not have were it not 
for my earthly father. 

All these blessings, both the ones 
which are material and the ones 
which are not, seem to fall nicely un- 
der the comforting arms of security. 
These arms have soothed and cheered 
me in periods of homesickness and 
depression, and have lifted me above 
things that would like to get me 
down. And I honestly, sincerely, 
and humbly thank you, Dad, for 
making it possible for my Heavenly 
Father to bless me as he has. 

First of all, when I think of bless- 
ings, I think of life. I think of the 
palm trees at school, of lying out 
on the green grass a few days ago and 
watching three gulls swooping in the 
blue sky, of flowers and stars and 
sunlight through my window. I 
think of all the wonderful world 
around me and how God has wrapped 
the best of it into the prettiest little 
package in the world and called it 
Cache Valley. 

Of course, I think of the blessings 
of the gospel, that I can pray night 
and morning with assurance I am 
heard, that I can work in the Church 
and know that it will be time well 
spent. All the blessings of the Church 
I have hastened to thank my Father in 
heaven for, and forgotten that I have 
another father who would give his 



by Eileen Gibbons 

life if he had to, to make sure I was 
strong in the gospel, who has not 
spared time nor means to train me in 
the ways of the Lord, and whose 
counsel I can always heed without 
fear of going wrong. My spiritual 
convictions have been a buoy to keep 
me above the whacks of old Satan, 
and I know I would not have them if 
I had not been born of parents with 
the same testimony. 

Then, too, there are my brothers 
and sisters and my dear mother. I 
have thanked God many times for 
them, and for you. But I realize now 
that if you had not had the good sense 
to marry a woman with beliefs in 
harmony with yours, and if you had 
not trained your other children in 
the same principles as I have been 
taught, I wouldn't be thanking God 
for them. I don't think there's any- 
one in the whole wide world with a 
family to compare to mine, and how 
can I thank my Heavenly Father, 
without thanking the man he used to 
give them to me, and whom he 
trusted to make them so worth loving? 

Besides these tremendous blessings, 
perhaps the necessities of life, the 
food, the clothing seem less important. 
But it is the enjoyment of these daily 
"take-it-for-granteds" that makes it 
possible for us to put our minds on 
higher things. If we didn't have the 
food we need and these other material 
gifts, our thoughts would be on get- 
ting them instead of on exploring 
truth and developing talents. Not 
only have I enjoyed the necessities of 
life but also an abundance far be- 



yond. There are really none of these 
things which don't seem like a luxury 
to me tonight, as I remember how 
hard you have worked to provide 
them and to see that none of us ever 
went without a single thing we 
needed. 

The next thing that comes to my 
mind is that I have a sound, whole, 
and clean body, and an intellect 
which enables me to associate with 
my fellow men and not only learn 
but also contribute, to understand 
partially the gospel, to enjoy reading 
and studying, and to have the judg- 
ment to know there is much to learn 
and want to learn it. I have thanked 
the Lord so many times, especially 
since leaving home almost two months 
ago, for my sound mind and body, 
and I should have thanked you, too! 
It would be hard to overestimate your 
contribution toward this blessing, 
which is the foundation for a full and 
useful life. 

I am sure, Daddy, that there are a 
multitude of other blessings for which 
I should express my gratitude. But 
as I have said, you have shared with 
my Heavenly Father in giving me the 
security of life, faith, family, necessi- 
ties of life, and a good body and mind. 
It is impossible for me to imagine how 
I could be more blessed. 

Please have a happy Father's Day, 
and remember that we love you and 
appreciate all you do. Please try and 
forget all of the disobedient, unkind 
things I have ever said or done and 
blame them onto a sliver which I had 
under my toenail at the time or on 
the panic of passing 25. Whichever 
you like, it doesn't matter, just so you 
forget if you can that I was at times 
pretty sour. 

Although this doesn't sound like 
Emerson, or even Edgar A. Guest, I 
know you would catch its sincerity if 
you saw the messed-up bed, unread 
novel, unshined shoes, and uncurled 
hair which must wait until it is in 
the mail. 

Happy Father's Day again, and 
God bless his partner. 




Love, 




JUNE 1955 



393 



Hort Much Security 






for }jour Child ? 

by Annie Laurie Von Tungeln 



A little boy was greatly troubled 
by the haunting fear of a tiger. 
He was so terrified that he fre- 
quently had difficulty going to sleep; 
and when he did tumble off, he 
dreamed night after night that the 
tiger was chasing him. 



infants or they could not survive. 
Indeed, adult love, to a child, means 
protection and care. 

In order to help a child attain a 
feeling of security, we should, in the 
second place, teach him to be re- 
sourceful. He needs to learn to plan, 



Finally, the family physician was to figure out ingenious ways of doing 
called in. He took the little fellow things, to know that if he can't do 
on his lap and said, "I hear that a a thing one way, he can probably 
tiger has been bothering you, but do it another. He should realize that 
he's a good old tiger, a friendly tiger, a toy he rigs up for himself is more 
Next time he comes to see you, just fun sometimes than an expensive one. 
reach out your hand, pat him on the A little fellow about seven or eight 
head, and say, 'Hello, old tiger, I'm years old boarded a cross-country bus 
not afraid of you.' " one hot July day. He carried a fish- 
That night the doctor watched at ing pole, a book, and a small bag. 
the bedside of the child, who finally When his father bade him good-bye, 
fell into a troubled sleep. After a he called back confidently, "I'll bring 
while, a hesitant little hand reached you some fish." 



out from the bed covers. At first, it 
trembled; then it began patting; and 
at length, completely reassured, a 
firm voice said, "Hello, old tiger, I'm 
not afraid of you." Soon the child 
fell into quiet, peaceful sleep, and 



He gave the driver specific instruc- 
tions as to the exact turn in the road 
where he wished to get off, explain- 
ing that he was to meet his grand- 
father there to go fishing. Seated 
by himself, he settled down to his 



he was never again disturbed by the book, from which he scarcely looked 



tiger. 

Kind and thoughtful as the physi- 
cian was, he didn't actually give emo- 
tional security — the final achievement 
was the child's own — but he was the 
guiding force toward it. Security is 
something that one human being can- 
not give to another, no matter how 
dearly he loves him and sincerely he 
seeks his welfare. Not even a parent 
who would sacrifice his life for his 
child can assure him economic, and 
much less, emotional security. There 
is, however, much that parents and 
teachers, like the wise physician, can 
do to help a child attain it. 

In the case of a small child, love 
is the prime factor in establishing a 
feeling of security. It is not enough 
to love a child — parents and teachers 
must show their love in tangible form. 
True love does not rule out sensible 
discipline and wise punishment, but 
a child should always be made to feel 
that only his naughty actions, not he 
himself, are being rejected. 

Of course, parents or other adults 
must protect, control, and care for 

394 



up until a rest stop was made. There 
he got off, went into a cafe, and 



ordered a sandwich and a glass of 
milk. He paid the cashier the exact 
change for his food, and carefully 
counting out what remained, he asked 
the waitress, "How much does a glass 
of chipped ice cost?" Assured that it 
wouldn't cost a penny, he took a glass 
and occupied himself with that for 
a while. 

After the rest stop, a college girl 
had sat down with him on the bus. 
Apparently wishing companionship 
now, he decided to start a conversa- 
tion. "And so," he began with polite 
interest, spelling out the title of the 
large book the girl was carrying, 
"that's commercial law, is it?" 

Delighted with his friendly over- 
ture, the girl fairly beamed on her 
young seat mate and entered into a 
spirited conversation that gave him 
ample opportunity to tell her about 
his fishing and other interests. 

Thanking the driver for letting 
him off between towns, he remarked, 
"I'll just wait by the side of the road 
till your bus pulls on so that I can 
see in both directions before I cross 
the highway." 

There was a resourceful chap! 
When he tired of one way of enter- 
taining himself, he thought up an- 
other; he knew how to manage his 
small finances well; he was self-con- 
fident and careful at the same time. 

Parents and teachers can help give 

a child a sense of security by laying 

down a few basic rules for conduct. 

Both father and mother should fol- 

(Concluded on page 450) 




— A Lambert Photo 
In order to help a child attain a feeling of security, we should teach him to have confidence 

in himself. 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



General Conference Section 

Addresses delivered at the 

125th Annual General Conference, 

April 3, 4, and 6, 1955. 






The 

First 

Presidency 



Stephen L Richards "' ' "' J. Reuben Clark, Jr. 

President David O. McKay 



RIGHTEOUSNESS 



Key to World Peace 



* 



by President David O. McKay 

PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS 



MY beloved brethren and sisters: The 
sense of responsibility of this mo- 
ment is overwhelming. In antici- 
pation of it I have prayed earnestly, 
daily, for inspiration and strength, and 
now I ask you for your sympathetic co- 
operation and your prayers that the in- 
terests of the Church, the establishing 
of the kingdom of God among men, 
may be enhanced. 

"And lift up an ensign of peace, and 
make a proclamation for peace unto the 
ends of the earth." (D. & C. 105:39.) 

This quotation is from a revelation 
given to the Prophet Joseph Smith when 
Zion's Camp was at Fishing River, June 
22, 1834. In that one sentence, the Lord 
sets forth one of the great purposes of 
his Church — to bring about harmony in 
human relations; in the individual to 
experience a mental or spiritual state in 
which there is personal freedom from 
"disquieting or perturbing" conditions 
that might interfere with the consumma- 
tion of God's purposes to bring about the 
immortality and eternal life of man. 

Considering world conditions, I think 
it is highly gratifying to note the com- 
mendable efforts, the wise, conservative 
judgment manifest by the President of 
JUNE 1955 



the United States, the Secretary of State, 
and other sincere statesmen in Congress, 
including our own worthy Senators and 
Representatives to foster the cause of 
peace and to avert a world-wide clash 
of arms. But it is very apparent that 
international conditions at present cen- 
tering at Quemoy and Matsu Islands are 
filled with such volatile problems that 
a defiant move on the part of Chinese 
communists might disrupt the already 
precarious peace of the world. 

We love peace, but not peace at any 
price. There is a peace more destructive 
of the manhood of living man than war 
is destructive of the body. "Chains are 
worse than bayonets." 

After the Savior's resurrection when 
he appeared to his disciples assembled in 
an upper room, his divine greeting was 
"Peace be unto you." (John 20:19.) 
Even before his resurrection, he said: 
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I 
give unto you: not as the world giveth, 
give I unto you. Let not your heart be 
troubled, neither let it be afraid." (Ibid., 
14:27.) 

We believe firmly that the basis upon 

*Address delivered Sunday morning, April 3, 1955. 



which world peace may be permanently 
obtained is not by sowing seeds of dis- 
trust and suspicion in people's minds; 
not by engendering enmity and hatred 
in human hearts; not by individuals or 
nations arrogating to themselves the 
claim of possessing all wisdom, or the 
only culture worth having; not by war 
with resulting suffering and death from 
submarines, poison gas, or explosions of 
nuclear bombs. No! The peace that 
will be permanent must be founded 
upon the principles of righteousness as 
taught and exemplified by the Prince of 
Peace, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, 
". . . for there is none other name under 
'heaven given among men, whereby we 
must be saved." (Acts 4:12.) 

My theme this morning is: What are 
we doing as a Church and as members 
thereof to proclaim this peace? 

Recently, as you know, it was my 
privilege and duty, accompanied by 
Sister McKay and President Franklin J. 
Murdock, who acted as secretary, to 
visit some of the far-off missions of the 
Church. 

With the theme in mind of proclaim- 
ing the gospel of peace to the inhabitants 
(Continued on following page) 

395 



President David 0. McKay 



Continued 



of the world, I should like to comment 
on observations made of four effective 
factors operative in the spreading of the 
gospel. 

First, we note the excellent work be- 
ing done by the 11,500 missionaries 
throughout the world, 390 of whom it 
was our privilege to meet on this recent 
tour. Each one of these pays his or 
her own expenses, conforms to the re- 
quirements and laws of the country, and 
teaches the principles that constitute 
the basis of the restored religion of Jesus 
Christ. All are appointed messengers 
proclaiming the glad tidings of the re- 
stored gospel, giving of themselves, as 
well as of their means for the good of 
the world. 

A second favorable factor is a better 
understanding by officials of govern- 
ments and municipalities regarding the 
purposes of Mormon missionary work. 
Old stories that- used to be extant accus- 
ing missionaries of sinister motives are 
now repeated only by the prejudiced and 
uninformed. United States consuls, or 
their representatives, mayors of munici- 
palities, and other officials, met us, bade 
us welcome, and proffered to render any 
service to make our visit profitable. 
Newspaper reporters, radio announcers, 
television representatives were on hand 
to learn the purposes of the tour, and 
without exception gave fair and unpreju- 
diced reports of our visit. 

The third observation (and this is 
important) is the need to put forth every 
effort within reason and practicability 
to place within reach of Church mem- 
bers in these distant missions every edu- 
cational and spiritual privilege that the 
Church has to offer. 

It is only recently that some of these 
missions have been visited by a General 
Authority. With modern means of 
transportation available, it is now possi- 
ble and very practical to have these far- 
off missions visited as the missions here 
in the United States have been visited. 
Accordingly, and this you will be 
pleased to hear, at a meeting of the First 
Presidency and Council of the Twelve 
held March 17, 1955, it was unanimously 
decided that these distant missions 
should be included with other missions 
in the annual appointments of mem- 
bers of the Council of the Twelve. 

Besides these visits, educational insti- 
tutions are being made available for 
the young people. In Nukualofa, for 
example, in the Tongan Islands, under 
the able presidency of D'Monte W. • 
Coombs, Professor Ermel J. Morton, 
principal, and an able staff, there is 
now established in full working order 
the Liahona College, accommodating 
three hundred students, and employing 
fourteen teachers. It is a credit to the 
Church and to the Tongan Islands. In- 
deed, it is one of the show places of 
passengers of the steamship Tofua, and 
her sister ship, the Matua. While the 
ships are loading and unloading cargo 
at Nukualofa, the passengers take buses 
out to Liahona to visit the school and 

396 



inspect the work that is being done by 
the students. 

At Pesega, Samoa, under the presi- 
dency of President Howard B. Stone, the 
school already established accommodates 
from six hundred to one thousand stu- 
dents. Another is planned at Maupa- 
saga, American Samoa. Thus will the 
branches be strengthened in far distant 
lands with visits of the Twelve, whose 
duty it is to set in order the affairs of 
the Church in all the world, with edu- 
cational advantages to prepare students 
for the preaching of the gospel, and 
finally, with a temple within easy reach 
of those whose influence in the mission 
field will become a strength to the 
branches, and a means of proclaiming 
peace. 

The fourth observation I wish to make 
is the influence of the power of example. 
One of the most impressive features of 
our recent South Pacific tour was the 
participation of youth in meetings, in the 
welcomes extended, and in the fare- 
wells, and the orderly conduct of the 
children, without an exception. The 
school at Liahona in Tonga radiated not 
only culture and refinement, but also 
the true spirit of the gospel. The same 
features existed in Tahiti under Acting 
President Larson H. Caldwell; New Zea- 
land, presided over by President Sidney 
J. Ottley; Australia, under President 
Charles V. Liljenquist; in Samoa, as I 
have already stated, under President 
Howard B. Stone; in Hawaii, under 
President D. Arthur Haycock; and in the 
stake, under President Edward L. Clis- 
sold. Strangers who were present, (and 
they were there by the hundreds), had a 
good demonstration of what the Church 
is doing properly to interest and to di- 
rect the youth. 

Herein lies the responsibility of mem- 
bership. The gospel of peace should 
find its most fruitful effects in the homes 
of Church members. Flowers in our 
gardens require good soil and a favor- 
able climate. So children, to be healthy 
and happy, should have a favorable 
mental and emotional atmosphere in 
the home. 

Soon after our return from the South 
Pacific, I received a letter from Presi- 
dent Ward C. Holbrook, a state official, 
stating that the divorce rate in Utah is 
such as to give cause for most serious 
consideration. It is inconsistent to go 
abroad to proclaim peace if we have 
not peace in our own lives and homes. 

The greatest trust that can come to 
a man and woman is the placing in 
their keeping the life of a little child. 
If a man defaults who is entrusted with 
other people's funds, whether he be a 
bank, municipal, or state official, he is 
apprehended and probably sent to prison. 
If a person entrusted with a government 
secret discloses that secret, and betrays 
his country, he is called a traitor. What 
must the Lord think, then, of parents 
who, through their own negligence or 
wilful desire to indulge their selfishness, 
fail properly to rear their children, and 
thereby prove untrue to the greatest 



trust that has been given to human 
beings? In reply the Lord has said: 
". . . the sin be upon the heads of the 
parents." (D. & C. 68:25.) 

The happiest homes in the world 
should be found among members of the 
Church. Statistics on broken homes, 
with resultant divorces, should alert all 
citizens, and particularly members of 
the Church to greater activity in pre- 
serving harmony in home circles. Let 
us begin at once as parents to maintain 
the kind of influence or home atmos- 
phere that will contribute to the normal 
moral development of the children and 
eliminate from the home those elements 
which cause discord and strife. 

Fathers and mothers sometimes by un- 
wise conduct unwittingly influence their 
children toward delinquency. Among 
these unwise acts, I mention first, dis- 
agreeing, or quarreling on the part of 
parents in the presence of children. 
Sometimes such quarrels arise out of an 
attempt to correct or to discipline a 
child. One parent criticizes, the other 
objects, and the good influence of the 
home, so far as the child is concerned, 
is nullified. A child of such parents can 
never say truthfully in after life what 
John Ruskin writes of his memory of 
home: 

"I never heard my father's or mother's 
voice once raised in any question with 
each other; nor saw an angry or even 
slightly hurt or offended glance in the 
eyes of either ... I never saw a mo- 
ment's trouble or disorder in any house- 
hold matter." 

I name as a second unwise condition 
those parents who pollute the home 
atmosphere with "vulgarity" and "pro- 
fanity." I use the term "vulgarity" in 
the sense used by David Starr Jordan. 
"To be vulgar," he writes, "is to do that 
which is not the best of its kind. It is to 
do poor things in poor ways, and to be 
satisfied with that. ... It is vulgar to 
wear dirty linen when one is not en- 
gaged in dirty work. It is vulgar to like 
poor music. ... To find amusement in 
trashy novels, to enjoy vulgar theatres, 
to find pleasure in cheap jokes, to tol- 
erate coarseness and looseness in any of 
its myriad forms." 

Parents are particularly untrue to 
their trust who will use profane words 
in the home. Profanity is a national 
vice. Parents pollute their home when 
they use it. People of our nation would 
stand on a higher moral plane if they 
would but follow the general order 
given by the Father of our country to 
his soldiers, July 1, 1776. Said he — or 
wrote he at that time: 

"The General is sorry to be informed 
that the foolish and wicked practice of 
profane cursing and swearing, a vice 
heretofore little known in an American 
army, is growing into fashion. He hopes 
the officers will, by example as well as 
influence, endeavor to check it, and that 
both they and the men will reflect that 
we can have little hope of the blessing 
of heaven on our arms if we insult it 
by our impiety and folly. Added to this, 
it is a vice so mean and low, without 
any temptation, that every man of sense 
and character detests and despises it." 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



I continue, vulgarity and profanity 
among the young is often, though not 
always, the result of the presence of 
those evils in the home. 

To quarreling of parents before chil- 
dren, to vulgarity, and to the condemna- 
tory use of profanity, there may be added 
a third contributing factor to parental 
delinquency, and that is the non-con- 
formity in the homes to Church stand- 
ards. Remember, fellow parents, that 
children are quick to detect insincerity, 
and they resent in their feelings false 
pretension. Parents, of all people on 
earth, should be honest with their chil- 
dren. Keep your promises to them and 
speak the truth always. Children are 
more influenced by sermons you act 
than by sermons you preach. It is the 
consistent parent who gains the trust 
of his child. When children feel that 
you reciprocate their trust, they will not 
violate your confidence nor bring dis- 
honor to your name. 

"The parent must live truth, or the 
child will not live it. The child will 
startle you with its quickness in punctur- 
ing the bubble of your pretended knowl- 
edge; in instinctively piercing the heart 
of a sophistry without being conscious 
of process; in relentlessly enumerating 
your unfulfilled promises; in detecting 
with a justice of a court of equity a 
technicality of speech that is virtually a 
lie. He will justify his own lapses from 
truth by appeal to some white lie told 
to a visitor and unknown to be over- 
heard by the little ones, whose mental 
powers we ever underestimate in theory 
though we may overpraise in words. 

"If truth be the rock-foundation of 
the child's character, as a fact, not as a 
theory, the future of that child is as 
fully assured as it is possible for human 
pre-vision to guarantee." (Wm. George 
Jordan, The Power of Truth.) 

The fourth observation: parents who 
fail to teach obedience to their children. 
Within the last decade there have been 
rampant some wild theories about the 
self-determination of children,_ and the 
preservation of their individuality. Some 
of these theorists believe that children 
should be permitted to solve their own 
problems without guidance from parents. 
There is some virtue in this, but there 
is more error. This theory has gained 
momentum in practice because of re- 
action to arbitrary government by par- 
ents. 

Commenting upon this, one educator 
rightly says: "Thousands of conventions 
are laid down by society today, conven- 
tions which are often institutionalized 
and crystallized. Whether he likes it 
or not, every individual must conform 
to these conventions if he is to be either 
efficient or happy. If he does not con- 
form, society brings all sorts of pressure 
to bear upon him. He may be jailed 
for certain kinds of nonconformity. For 
other less serious kinds he may become 
soured, disappointed, and even neurotic. 

"If the home does not develop obedi- 
ence, society will demand it and get it. 
It is therefore better for the home with 
its kindness, sympathy, and understand- 
ing to train the child in obedience 
JUNE 1955 



rather than callously to leave him to the 
brutal and unsympathetic discipline 
that society will impose if the home 
has not already fulfilled this obliga- 
tion." 

The best time to teach the child 
obedience is between the ages of two to 
four. It is then that the child should 
learn that there are limits to his actions, 
that there are certain bounds beyond 
which he cannot pass with impunity. 
This conformity to home conditions can 
be easily obtained with kindness, but 
with firmness. "Train up a child the 
way he should go: and when he is old, 
he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 
22:6.) In this old adage the word train 
has great significance. 

Fifth, there are parents who say: We 
will let our children grow to manhood 
and womanhood and choose for them- 
selves. In taking this attitude parents 
fail in the discharging of a parental 
responsibility. Parents and teachers are 
God's fellow workers. The Father of all 
mankind expects parents, as his repre- 
sentatives, to assist him in shaping and 
guiding human lives and immortal souls. 
That is the highest assignment which 
the Lord can bestow upon man. 

The most effective way to teach re- 
ligion in the home is not by preaching 
but by living. If you would teach faith 
in God, show faith in him yourself; if 
you would teach prayer, pray yourself. 
Would you have them temperate? Then 
you. yourself refrain from intemperance. 
If you would have your child live a life 
of virtue, of self-control, of good report, 
then set hirna worthy example in all 
these t4rrfl??!*^^ehild brought up un- 
der such homt^Bayironment will be 



fortified for th 
yearnings that Iwl 
the real period 
comes at t 
age. 

It is then t 
ing regarding 
relations wit 
Church 




estions, and 

s soul when 

awakening 

years of 

tive teach- 

th and his 

ctivity in the 

uard during 



youth. Continual absence from Church 
makes continual absence easy. Other 
interests in life make the growing youth 
indifferent to religion. Success makes 
him think that religion is not essential 
to his happiness. "It is a law of life 
that use gives strength; a capacity un- 
used weakens and dies. It is as true of 
religious instincts as of any other. One 
need not be a sinner to lose God; he 
need only forget Him." 

With respect to the responsibility of 
parents teaching religion to their chil- 
dren, the Lord is very explicit in the 
Doctrine and Covenants, Section 68, 
25th to 28th verse: 

"And again, inasmuch as parents have 
children in Zion, or in any of her stakes 
which are organized, that teach them not 
to understand the. doctrine of repentance, 
faith in Christ the Son of the living 
God, and of baptism and the gift of the 
Holy Ghost by the laying on of the 
hands, when eight years old, the sin 
be upon the heads of the parents. 

"For this shall be a law unto the in- 
habitants of Zion, or in any of her 
stakes which are organized. 

"And their children shall be baptized 
for the remission of their sins when eight 
years old, and receive the laying on of 
the hands. 

"And they shall also teach their chil- 
dren to pray, and to walk uprightly be- 
fore the Lord." 

Brethren and sisters, let us strive to 
have fewer broken homes, and in our 
homes to have harmony and peace. 
From such homes will go men and 
women motivated with a desire to build, 
not to destroy. 

Thus in our homes, in our wards, 
branches, and stakes, we may join the 
appointed messengers in organized mis- 
sions, and consistently proclaim the re- 
stored gospel of peace unto the ends of 
the earth. 

"Follow with reverent steps the great 

example 
Of him whose holy work was 'doing 

good'; 
So shall the wide earth seem our Father's 

temple, 
Each loving life a psalm of gratitude. 

"Then shall all shackles fall: the stormy 

clangor 
Of wild war music o'er the earth shall 

cease; 
Love shall tread out the baleful fire of 

anger, 
And in its ashes plant the tree of peace." 

(Whittier) 

I hope that in the hearts of those who 
are listening there will have been awak- 
ened a realization that example in the 
home is entirely essential to the proc- 
lamation of peace abroad. The strangers 
who come to visit us will see that our 
lives comport with the proclamation of 
peace, with the ensign of peace that the 
Church holds up before the world. O 
Father, help us, that we may be thus 
blessed by the guidance of thy Holy 
Spirit, we pray in the name of Jesus 
Christ. Amen. 

397 



Christianity 



Definitions 



* 



by President Stephen L Richards 



OF THE FIRST PRESIDENCY 



M 



"y dear brethren and sisters, I rejoice 
with you in this great conference 
of the Church. I have been com- 
ing to conferences for a half century. 
I think I have seldom missed a session. 
I cannot remember of ever having at- 
tended a more enlightening and inspir- 
ing session than that of this morning. 
I feel certain tbat all who were present 
here or who heard the proceedings must 
have been deeply impressed. 

Naturally, I have an earnest and a 
prayerful desire to make some little con- 
tribution to these proceedings, and I 
earnestly solicit your co-operation and 
sympathy and your prayers in an un- 
dertaking to that end. I am taking the 
liberty of addressing my remarks in 
large measure to our friends who pay 
us the courtesy and the honor to give 
some attention to these proceedings. 

We are approximating the Easter 
time, as we were so well apprised this 
morning in the beautiful sermons of 
Brother Lee and Brother Brown. At this 
time the whole world may focus, in a 
measure at least, its attention upon 
Christianity, for I cannot think, even in 
countries of adverse philosophies, that 
attention will not be given to the 
progress of that we call Christianity, and 
I propose, if I may, to discuss some 
phases of that great theme — Christian- 
ity. 

Recently I heard a minister in an 
eloquent address over the radio define 
Christianity as "the Society of the 
Friends of Jesus." The dictionary de- 
fines Christianity as "the body of Chris- 
tian believers." Is there a significant 
distinction between these two defini- 
tions? Is an adequate concept of Chris- 
tianity available to us and to the world, 
and is it important? I have thought 
that matters pertaining to this subject 
might be worth our consideration for a 
short time. 

"The Society of the Friends of Jesus" 
is a nice-sounding phrase. I had never 
heard it before. The use of the word 
society may be somewhat difficult of 
justification because society usually con- 
templates something more of an inte- 
grated unit of people with companion- 
ship and association, generally of a 
friendly character and common purpose. 
There is so much diversity of in- 
terpretation effort, and purpose in 
Christendom as to make questionable 
the application of the word society. 
However, that consideration might be 

398 



regarded as somewhat technical, and I 
do not press it. 

The more important difference in the 
two definitions I have quoted is the 
distinction between friends and believ- 
ers. 

I may be unduly apprehensive, but 
I think I discern in this gracious use of 
the word friends a tendency which is 
supported by many of the circumstances 
which come to our attention to forsake 
and depart from the concept that no 
one may be classified as Christian ex- 
cept he "believe" in Jesus Christ and 
the principles for which he stands. All 
of us have friends with whom we are 
cordial, to whose principles of conduct 
and life we do not subscribe. A friend 
of the historical character, Jesus, may 
have esteem and admiration for his life, 
his teachings, and accomplishments, but 
he may not be a Christian believer as 
the old definition designates one to be 
counted in the body of Christianity. 

I cannot bring myself to think that 
the Savior himself would be satisfied 
with this new definition, however well 
intended it may have been. The Lord 
used the term friends most impressively 
— not quite, I fear, in the same sense in 
which it is used in the definition. You 
all remember the great pronouncement 
to his disciples: 

"Greater love hath no man than this, 
that a man lay down his life for his 
friends. 

"Ye are my friends, if ye do whatso- 
ever I command you. 

"Henceforth I call you not servants; 
for the servant knoweth not what his 
lord doeth; but I have called you friends; 
for all things that I have heard of my 
Father I have made known unto you." 
(John 15:13-16.) 

The essence of the friendship here 
set forth lies in belief and acceptance of 
the divinity of the Master. It is in- 
conceivable that he should extend the 
friendship he so beautifully described 
to any others than those who were be- 
lievers. We know of his compassion, his 
mercy, and concern for all our Father's 
children, but it should never be forgotten 
that he set forth in unequivocal lan- 
guage the eligibility of those admitted 
to the circle of his friendship. 

"Ye are my friends, if ye do whatso- 
ever I command you." (Ibid., 15:14.) 

If I could feel that the speaker to 
whom I listened had in mind such a 

* Address delivered Sunday afternoon, April 3, 1955. 



quality of friendship as the Savior por- 
trays, I would have little hesitancy in 
the acceptance of his definition, but I 
heard nothing in his sermon to indicate 
that was his concept. 

Now, my brethren and sisters, it may 
well seem to you that I have overplayed 
this matter of definitions, but the other 
aspect of the subject which I have men- 
tioned I am sure cannot be too strongly 
emphasized. Is there available to man- 
kind today an interpretation of Chris- 
tianity and the definition of a Christian 
which may be safely accepted and re- 
lied upon? As a Christian believer I 
am assured that there is, and that all 
men may know, if they will to acquire 
the knowledge, who is a Christian ac- 
ceptable to the author of Christianity, 
the Lord Jesus Christ. 

I hope you will bear in mind that I 
do not bring these matters forward 
with any assumption on my part that I 
have the right to judge of the Christian 
status of my fellow men. No one, under 
the declaration of the Savior, has the 
right of judgment of his fellows unless 
he be specifically commissioned so to do. 
Scarcely anyone fully conscious of the 
responsibility of exercising such judg- 
ment would ever seek it, for the Lord 
has said: "For with what judgment ye 
judge, ye shall be judged. . . ." (Matt. 
7:2.) 

My purpose in pointing out some of 
the attributes of a Christian is to en- 
able each man to determine for himself 
the state of his worthiness of this hon- 
orable designation. 

I believe that no man can count him- 
self Christian who is not concerned 
about religion, who does not have re- 
gard for things divine, and for his own 
standing in relation thereto. Irrespec- 
tive of what his antecedents and his 
affiliations may have been and are, it 
is most difficult to understand how he 
can be justified in the designation of 
Christian if he has lost or never had 
vital interest in religion. 

I am sorry to say there may be very 
large numbers in such a category. Many 
do not resent their classification as 
Christians. Many welcome, and some 
seek, the reputation for practising Chris- 
tian virtues. I know of few, if any, 
men who are not pleased to be called 
"a Christian gentleman," although there 
has never been evident, in many cases, 
any interest or activity in the Christian 
religion. 

There are two significant articles in 
a recent issue of a popular magazine. 
One article is entitled, "What Are We 
Worried About?" and the caption of the 
other article is, "64,000,000 Americans 
Do Not Go to Church. What Do They 
Believe?" 

I mention concern about religion as 
an essential element in the Christian 
faith. According to the first article, 
about five thousand persons in many 
walks of life and different localities were 
interviewed on the question, "What 
kinds of things do you worry about 
most?" The report is that "An over- 
whelming majority answered solely in 
terms of personal or family problems 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



(health, finances, employment, chil- 
dren's welfare, etc.) — 43% were worried 
about family finances, wages, expenses, 
etc. 30% mentioned personal problems 
such as marriage difficulties, children's 
welfare, and so on. 24% were worried 
about health — their own or of someone 
in the family. Only 8% were worried 
about world problems, occasioned chief- 
ly by the possibility of being drafted." 

The article does not state that the 
matter of religion was ruled out, but it 
appears from the report that no one who 
answered was worried about religion in 
any form. It may be that a subsequent 
article which is promised may give at- 
tention to that subject. 

Now if worry contemplates anxiety 
and deep concern, is it not significant 
that no one of this great number inter- 
viewed expressed any anxiety or fearful 
concern about things religious? If this 
poll may justifiably be interpreted (and 
perhaps its authors would not approve 
such an interpretation) as further gravi- 
tation of the people of our country 
toward materialism, then I think it 
carries serious import for all of us. 

I think I speak for this entire con- 
gregation who listens to these services, 
and I know that I speak for myself, when 
I say that there is no matter fraught 
with more anxiety and deep concern 
among all the problems that confront 
us than the religious welfare of our- 
selves, our families, and our fellow 
men. I firmly believe that this is an 
essential characteristic of a Christian, 
and I earnestly appeal to every man who 
discovers within himself a growing 
tendency to shrug off religious thinking 
and participation to stop and consider 
the effect of his spiritual lethargy on 
himself, his family, his friends, and his 
standing as a Christian. 

I mentioned another article in the 
magazine which has some relevance to 
the measure- which a man may apply 
to his own standing as a Christian. I 
cannot see how anyone can logically and 
consistently take on the designation of 
Christian unless he accepts the divinity 
of the Christ according to the scriptural 
record of the Christ. Without the rec- 
ord, of course, there would be for us no 
Christ. Christ is our Lord of the Gos- 
pels, as President Clark has so aptly 
designated him in his book. If the 
Gospels constitute the record and the 
history, how can we without building up 
an artificial and imaginary record fail 
to accept the divinity of the Father and 
the Son and still call ourselves Chris- 
tians? 

The article asserts that the 64,000,000 
Americans who do not go to Church are 
not necessarily irreligious; that many 
have a profound faith in God but do not 
believe that any existing organized re- 
ligion is a satisfactory expression of 
God's will. I do not attempt to contro- 
vert this statement, although I believe 
that we will all agree that going to 
Church and worship are evidences of 
one's acceptance of a Supreme Being and 
are calculated to foster and develop that 
acceptance. 
JUNE 1955 



It is further pointed out in this arti- 
cle that the great Lincoln never affiliated 
himself with any church, but of course 
there would be no warrant for any state- 
ment that he was not a believing, Chris- 
tian man. There are many things in 
his life and utterances to support the 
conclusion that he was a man of faith 
and prayer who would have resented a 
charge that he was not a Christian 
believer. 

It seems to me that in the present 
state of world affairs it is particularly 
important that men should examine the 
state of their inner feelings about this 
matter. It is frequently stated from 
many different sources that the present 
overshadowing conflict in the world is 
essentially between that which is Chris- 
tian and that which is anti-Christ. I 
recognize that there may be many not 
religiously inclined who would not ac- 
cept this generalization. Many would 
probably prefer to define the issues as 
drawn between the political concepts 
and systems of the so-called free world 
and the ideologies of statism and com- 
munism. However the issue may be 
defined, I am personally convinced that 
the cause of the free world may be im- 
measurably promoted and furthered by 
an enlarged acceptance of the Christian 
concept. That concept, better than any- 
thing else, it seems to me, furnishes the 
fundamental understanding of man's in- 
herent right to freedom. However much 
illustrations from the past may serve 
to justify the eternal quest and struggle 
for liberty, there is nothing in all history 
which so thoroughly supports the strug- 
gle as does the knowledge and under- 
standing of the nature and origin of 
man himself. 

Where may we find that all-essential 
explanation? I think I may answer for 
all Christian believers, in the Christian 
theology, where man is given a dig- 
nity and majesty of birth and purpose 
transcending any sphere which may be 
created for him by the imaginative ra- 
tionalization of man. This man of 
Christian origin is as a matter of divine 
right a free man, invested with the 
power of choice, without restraint, ex- 
cept that necessarily imposed to give all 
his fellows the same measure of free- 
dom and liberty. 

I think, my brethren and sisters and 
my friends, and I hope many heard this 
morning, that no better exposition of 
the fundamental Christian concept of 
family, the foundation of society, and 
the essentials involving and underlying 
our freedom, has ever been brought be- 
fore us and the world than came from 
that inspiring, comprehensive and pow- 
erful discourse of President McKay this 
morning. Would that all men all over 
this world might have heard it. 

This man of the Christian concept is 
not only free to act for himself, but he 
is also designed to live in a free society, 
operating under the ennobling and ex- 
alted concept that all men are brothers 
in the family of a divine parent. In the 
battle for the freedom of men is there 



a satisfactory and promising substitute 
for this Christian concept? I think there 
is not, and I doubt that on serious con- 
sideration there will be many in the 
free world who will contend that there 
is. 

Facing the problems that confront the 
world under the stress of the anxieties 
of the threat of a devastating and anni- 
hilating war, is it going too far to ask 
men and women in this land which has 
come to be the leader in the cause of 
freedom to subject themselves, their 
lives, and their feelings to their own 
scrutiny to answer to their consciences 
whether they are truly Christian in be- 
lief and purpose? All who can so con- 
scientiously classify themselves are in a 
position to make a contribution to the 
noble cause our country espouses, which 
I am sure can come from no other source 
in equal measure. 

I am content for this occasion to leave 
the matter of Christian definition with 
this comment: I would be willing to 
accept the minister's statement that 
"Christianity is the Society of the Friends 
of Jesus," if friends could be interpreted 
as the Savior pronounced: 

"Ye are my friends, if ye do whatso- 
ever I command you." (John 15:14.) 

I owe it to myself and to my fellow 
members in the Church of Jesus Christ 
of Latter-day Saints to make an addi- 
tional statement, particularly for the 
benefit of those not of our number who 
may listen to these proceedings. We 
would like all to know that additional 
evidences for the divinity of the Christ, 
and for the support of the Christian con- 
cept have providentially come to the 
world in these latter days, and that a 
fulness of the Lord's gospel, and the au- 
thority and power to administer it have 
been restored to the earth through his 
chosen servant for the enlightenment 
and blessing of all mankind; and 
further, that this enlarged understand- 
ing of the true nature of Christianity is 
available to all who will sincerely and 
humbly seek to know it; and that 
knowledge of it, the adoption of the 
restored gospel as a way of life, will 
immeasurably enhance the prospect of 
the triumph of the forces of freedom over 
their opponents. I extend to all an 
earnest invitation to investigate for 
themselves. 

In conclusion, I leave this parting 
word. I have deep respect, esteem, and 
love in my heart for all men and women 
everywhere who may be rightly counted 
Christian. I have regard for all who 
practise the Christian virtues. I know 
that the Christ loves those who love 
him, and who serve him, even with 
limited knowledge of his real nature and 
his true gospel. 

God bless Christianity, "the body of 
Christian believers," and true friends of 
Jesus, I ask humbly in the name of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 

399 



"WHAT IS MAN 



99 



He Still Stands as God Made Him 

by President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. 



OF THE FIRST PRESIDENCY 



My brothers and sisters: Those whom 
I see and those who are viewing 
and listening whom I do not see, 
I stand before you with gratitude that I 
have been present today and heard the 
great messages that have been delivered. 
While my own personal feelings are of 
no consequence, I had really contem- 
plated doing little more than bearing 
my testimony, but our President has 
seen fit to change somewhat the pro- 
gram that I understood was to be fol- 
lowed, and so I face you with his ex- 
pression that I occupy more of your 
time. I have been greatly impressed 
with the President's message and partic- 
ularly that part of it which dealt with 
the home and with what I might call 
discipline in the home. Discipline is 
not a rod. It is love, kindness, con- 
sideration, and understanding. 

We are blessed that there come to us, 
we invite them to our homes, spirits 
from the other world. As they thus 
come at our invitation they impose upon 
us an obligation which, in one sense, a 
true sense, is divine. So entrusted to 
our care is a spirit created by the Father 
who comes here pursuant to the great 
plan which was devised before the 
foundations of the world were laid. 
Bound up in that plan is not alone the 
past before we came, but the present, 
while we are here, and the future, the 
eternities that are to come, and we shall 
not escape responsibility if in any way 
we fall short of that mission which we 
assumed when we brought into this 
world that little, pure, holy spirit to be 
guided and directed by us. 

Generations ago the Psalmist sang: 
"What is man, that thou art mindful 
of him? and the son of man, that thou 
visitest him? 

"For thou hast made him a little lower 
than the angels, and hast crowned him 
with glory and honour." (Psalms 8:4-5.) 

The Psalmist must have had in mind 
and was perhaps referring to the great 
announcement made in the opening of 
the sacred record, "So God created man 
in his own image, in the image of God 
created he him; male and female cre- 
ated he them." (Gen. 1:27.) 

In those statements, in that declara- 
tion, pregnant with meaning, is bound 
up the whole plan of life and salvation, 
our existence before we came, our exist- 
ence here, and our existence hereafter. 
God created us spiritually. He created 
the bodies through whom, down through 
the ages he has provided tabernacles, 
temples for those spirits which he had 
created. He brought us here, offsprings 
of his love, tabernacled with his hopes 

400 



and his prayers, that we would go for- 
ward and live through our existence 
here in accordance with his will, that 
we might then, passing on, reach the 
high destiny which he had planned for 



us. 



That we might never be in a position 
from the very first, that we might not 
know what he wished us to do, he gave 
the gospel from the very beginning that 
men might know his ways, know what 
they had to do in order that they might 
fulfil their measure of creation and reach 
that high destiny he had provided. 

It is my faith, and I believe history 
will bear me out, that there never has 
been a time in the history of the world, 
in the darkest hours of paganism when 
men did not have in their possession so 
much of the truth, and more, as they 
were able to live. Sometimes that truth 
was besmirched, sometimes it was 
dimmed, sometimes it was distorted, 
but down underneath it all always were 
some elemental truths, because men had 
in their minds at least the traditions of 
the gospel preached from the beginning, 
had in their minds certain fundamental 
things which concerned their salvation. 

God has made it clear, as I understand 
it, that he holds his children responsible 
for the truth which he reveals to them, 
and if they are not in a position to live 
all the truth, they are in the position 
to live that which he gives. Pushing it, 
perhaps to the extreme, we know that 
from the beginning, God taught as part 
of the gospel the mission, the life, the 
work, the death of his Only Begotten 
Son, who was to atone for the bringing 
upon us of mortality. 

You know, I can see underneath the 
sacrifices that were offered, the human 
sacrifices, in the country to the south of 
us among the Lamanites, sacrifices that 
finally led to cannibalism, the eating 
of a part of the sacrifice — I see a clear 
suggestion of the sacrifice distorted al- 
most beyond recognition, which God 
was to make and made through his Only 
Begotten Son for our redemption. 

We ought to remember, I feel always, 
the truths which God has given to us. 
We live in revolutionary and evolution- 
ary time. The Lord has vouchsafed to 
us some of the greatest discoveries of all 
times; he has increased beyond the 
wildest dreams of the most imaginative 
poet, our powers of transmission of 
speech. He has increased our powers 
of speed of transportation. He has dis- 
covered to us great secrets of energy 
which we know how to create but not 
yet how to control. 

*Address delivered Sunday morning, April 3, 1955. 



We have looked at these things, and 
we have said in our hearts, and in our 
speech, that the old has been "out- 
moded." We see the results, and we 
believe. But it has been rather an easy 
transition from the outmoding of these 
material instrumentalities given by God 
for our good (and we shall yet use them 
for the promulgation of truth though 
not yet do I catch a glimpse even of 
how in all cases they shall be used, but 
yet they will be so used) — it has been 
an easy transition, I say, to affirm that 
since the physical has become outmoded, 
so is "outmoded" the moral and the 
spiritual of the past. In the darkness 
they are crying out, as we have heard, 
for a prophet. Brother Romney said 
that what they need is a listening ear 
for the prophet they have. 

But it is wholly fantastic, as I see it, 
for us to think that man himself is 
"outmoded," or his moral and spiritual 
past. We still have the five senses, all 
we learn and know and experience 
comes through those five senses. Man 
has not been given another sense by 
these great discoveries. Man still thinks 
as he has always thought, more poig- 
nantly, perhaps, more deeply in certain 
lines than heretofore, but he still thinks, 
he still speaks, he is still guided by the 
same great passions of love, hate, am- 
bition, desire to serve the Lord and all 
the rest of it. We have not changed. 
We are as God made us originally, save 
as we have somehow in some things 
subverted our feelings, our passions, our 
urges, our ambitions. 

What I would like to get to you today 
is my feeling that the spiritual in man, 
the spirit of man is in no sense what- 
ever "outmoded." He stands today as 
he stood when he came from the garden. 
God is still God; Jesus is the Christ. 
There is no change in that. There has 
been no change in the great spiritual 
truths that are essential to our progress 
spiritually and to our eventual salva- 
tion and exaltation. Nothing is changed 
there. 

Moreover, we of this Church have 
our testimony and our knowledge that 
God still speaks to us, that he does not 
permit us to wander in darkness and 
in silence, uninstructed, uninspired, 
without revelation. No principle of the 
gospel is more glorious than that princi- 
ple of continuous revelation because we 
know that so often as it is necessary our 
Heavenly Father will again reveal to us 
all that it is necessary that we should 
know, in addition to what we now have. 

We are not moving blindly, we are 
not moving by the maxims of the past 
only. We are not moving alone, guided 
only by the revelations given in ancient 
times. We are moving forward under 
revelations given in modern times and 
are moving forward under a knowledge 
that if we need further light, it shall 
be given to us. 

My brothers and sisters, I leave with 
you my testimony that God lives, that 
the eternal truths are today as they 
have always been, no change, that God 
expects us to keep his commandments. 
I give you my testimony that this is the 
Restored Gospel, that Joseph is a Proph- 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 




Joseph Fielding Smith 



Harold B. Lee 



Spencer W. Kimball Ezra Tart Benson 



Mark E. Petersen 



Henry D. Moyle 




Delbert L. Stapley Marion G. Romney LeGrand Richards 



Adam S. Bennion 



Richard L. Evans 



George Q. Morris 



My good brethren and sisters and 
friends, I realize that this is a very 
important and responsible position; 
that our words go out, the extent of 
which we do not know. It is needful, 
therefore, that we have the guidance of 
the Spirit of the Lord, that we may 
speak his truth. I trust that the few 
words that I say may find an echo in 
your hearts and be dictated by the Spirit 
of the Lord. 

Near the close of a discourse by our 
Lord and Savior, many believed on him. 
It is written: "Then said Jesus to those 
Jews which believed on him, If ye con- 
tinue in my word, then are ye my 
disciples indeed; 

"And ye shall know the truth, and the 
truth shall make you free." (John 8:31- 
32.) 

The only truth that makes us free is 
the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
In fact, all truth belongs to the gospel 
of Jesus Christ. When bur Savior was 
brought before Pilate, Pilate questioned 
him and asked him if he were a king. 
Jesus answered, "Thou sayest that I am 
a king. To this end was I born, and for 



et, that the First Vision was a reality, 
that the man who now stands as the 
President of the Church possesses all the 
keys and powers that were possessed by 
the Prophet Joseph, that God expects 
us, as has been said here today, to keep 
all of his commandments to the end 
that we may be saved and exalted in 
his presence, and for this I humbly pray, 
in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 
JUNE 1955 



The Way to Eternal life 



by Joseph Fielding Smith 

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 



* 



this cause came I into the world, that 
I should bear witness unto the truth. 
Every one that is of the truth heareth 
my voice." (Ibid., 18:37.) 

Then Pilate asked him, "What is 
truth?" Perhaps the Savior had no 
time given him to answer. Perhaps he 
was silent, and from that time until now 
volumes have been written asking that 
question. The only true answer that 
has been given was given by the Lord 
to the Prophet Joseph Smith. 

"And truth is knowledge of things as 
they are, and as they were, and as they 
are to come." (D. & C. 93:24.) In other 
words, truth is that which endures. All 
else must perish. This being true, it 
behooves us to search for truth — this 
truth the Savior spoke of that makes us 
free. 

Not all truth is of the same value or 
importance. Some truths are greater 
than others. The greatest truth, or the 
greatest truths, we find in the funda- 
mentals of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
First of all, that Jesus Christ is the Son 
of God, the Redeemer of the world, who 



'Address delivered Sunday Afternoon, April 3, 1955. 



came into this world to die that men 
might live. That truth we should know. 
It is far more important to know that 
Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, that he 
has given unto us the principles of 
eternal life, than it is to know all that 
can be obtained in secular education. 

It is far more important to know that 
baptism is for the remission of sins, and 
when properly performed by one who 
has the authority, remission of sins will 
come, and through the baptism follow- 
ing, of the Holy Ghost, we come back 
into the presence of God our Father, at 
last, through the guidance of the Holy 
Ghost. 

To know the way to eternal life is 
far more important than all the learning 
that the world can give. We find that 
in the sacred principles which have been 
revealed for the last time, and in these 
ordinances which are being performed 
for the last time — that is, in the Dis- 
pensation of the Fulness of Times — for 
the gospel will never be restored again. 
It has been restored to remain. The 
Lord has ordained his servants, and has 

(Continued on following page) 

401 



Joseph Fielding Smith 



Continued- 



given them authority to execute his laws, 
to preach his gospel, to cry repentance, 
to call upon men to humble themselves 
and receive these fundamental princi- 
ples of eternal life. 

The way of eternal life is here. The 
covenants that were promised that lead 
to that great gift are here. All men on 
the face of the earth have now the 
privilege not only of repentance, but also 
of remission of sins through the waters 
of baptism, and the gift of the Holy 
Ghost by the laying on of hands, and 



to receive the covenants and obligations 
which were promised anciently that will 
bring them back into the presence of 
God, our Father. 

These blessings are free. They are 
the most important truths in all the 
world. Brethren and sisters, we have 
received them. Let us be true and faith- 
ful, turning neither to the right nor to 
the left in the keeping of the command- 
ments of the Lord, and by example as 
well as by precept, serve him, I humbly 
pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 



Sunday Morning Session, April 3, 1955 



"For Whoso 



Is Faithful" 

by ElRay L. Christiansen 

ASSISTANT TO THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 



After listening to President David O. 
McKay's timely and helpful mes- 
Lsage, brothers and sisters, I am sure 
that you feel, as did I, to say again in 
your hearts: 

We thank thee, O God, for a Prophet, 
To guide us in these latter days; 
We thank thee for sending the gospel 
To lighten our minds with its rays. 

May we utter that thanks and show 
it in a fervent and personal response 
to this appeal of our great leader. 

I am sure that what I shall say will 
not be new to anyone, but it is a matter 
to which we should give serious con- 
sideration. The Latter-day Saints are a 
blessed people because they have made 
covenants with the Lord. As he made 
covenants with Israel of old, so he has 
made covenants with us, and we have 
made personal and individual covenants 
with him. 

A covenant is a bond; a solemn agree- 
ment. It involves at least two indi- 
viduals, and, of course, both parties must 
abide by the conditions of the covenant 
in order to make it effective and bind- 
ing. The gospel in its fulness, as it has 
been restored, is the new and everlast- 
ing covenant of God. The new and 
everlasting covenant embodies all cove- 
nants, bonds, and obligations that are 
required of the Lord for peace in the 
world, for peace in the hearts of men, 
and for the salvation and exaltation of 
man. 

In a revelation given to the Church 
through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the 
Lord,' bidding the people to hearken and 
listen together to his voice "while it is 
yet day," said to them: 

And even so I have sent mine everlasting 
covenant into the world, to be a light to the 

402 



world, and to be a standard for my people, 
and for the Gentiles to seek to it, and to be 
a messenger before my face to prepare the 
way before me. (D. & C. 45:9.) 

"Why does the Lord make or require 
covenants and commandments and ob- 
ligations and laws? I have heard peo- 
ple ask, if he loves us why does he re- 
strict us? Just as any father would 
restrict his child, if it is a blessing to 
that child, so our Father gives us these 
laws and ordinances and command- 
ments and covenants, not that we should 
be burdened or restricted by them, but 
that we may be lifted up and made free, 
that our burdens may be light; that we 
may, through obedience to them, more 
nearly perfect our lives and thereby pre- 
pare ourselves for the glories that await 
those who are willing to conform to the 
laws and ordinances of the gospel. His 
laws are not grievous; they are not 
burdensome. 

Covenants made with the Lord are 
eternal in their nature. Agreements 
made between men end when those 
men are dead. Such agreements are not 
eternal. The Lord made it very clear 
that the covenants he makes with men 
are eternal and that those which are 
between man and man shall be shaken 
and destroyed eventually. 

Behold, mine house is a house of order, 
saith the Lord God, and not a house of 
confusion. 

And everything that is in the world, 
whether it be ordained of men, by thrones, 
or principalities, or powers, or things of 
name, whatsoever they may be, that are not 
by me or by my word, saith the Lord, shall 
be thrown down, and shall not remain 
after men are dead, neither in nor after 
the resurrection, saith the Lord your God. 
(Ibid., 132:8, 13.) 



Every member of this Church has 
made covenants with God. When we 
entered into the waters of baptism and 
were confirmed members of the Church, 
we entered into a covenant with him. 
In section twenty-two of the Doctrine 
and Covenants the Lord refers to bap- 
tism as "a new and everlasting covenant, 
even that which was from the begin- 
ning." And in another revelation to 
Joseph Smith given in 1830, the Lord 
said, concerning baptism and the cove- 
nants associated with it (and I often 
wonder if we consider seriously enough 
those covenants and obligations that are 
connected with our entering into the 
waters of baptism and into membership 
in this Church), this he said: 

All those who humble themselves before 
God, and desire to be baptized, and come 
fortb with broken hearts and contrite spirits, 
and witness before the church that they 
have truly repented of all their sins, and 
are willing to take upon them the name of 
Jesus Christ, having a determination to 
serve him to the end, and truly manifest 
by their works that they have received of 
the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of 
their sins, shall be received by baptism into 
his church. (Ibid., 20:37.) 

Those requirements and expectations 
are rather definite. The obligations and 
covenants are clearly stated. Both the 
blessings of becoming a member of the 
Church and the obligations of such 
membership should be understood and 
impressed upon all candidates for bap- 
tism and membership in the Church, 
both the young and the old. 

Again, when we partake of the sacra- 
ment of the Lord's supper, we enter into 
covenants with him. We make a cove- 
nant that we will take upon us the 
name of the Son. That means, it seems 
to me, to be like him as nearly as pos- 
sible, to do as he would do, to live in 
our everyday lives as he would live, to 
be a true disciple of Christ. 

Now, he who takes upon him the 
name of Christ surely will obliterate 
from his life such things as profane and 
vulgar language, and evil thinking, 
"For," says the Lord, "as he thinketh 
in his heart, so is he." (Prov. 23:7.) 

Surely those who take upon them the 
name of Christ will be honest and true, 
chaste and benevolent and virtuous and 
will do good to all men. 

When we partake of the sacrament, 
we make a covenant to keep his com- 
mandments, all of them, certainly to 
love the Lord our God with all our 
hearts, and with all our might, and 
with all our strength, and to love our 
neighbor as ourselves. By keeping the 
commandments made in the sacrament 
service, one is promised that his Spirit 
will be with him, to guide him, to direct 
him, to warn him, and to teach him. 
There is nothing more desirable that 
one could ask than to have the ac- 
companiment of the Spirit of God. 

Let us be grateful for the privilege 
we have each week of going to the 
sacrament table and there renewing our 
covenants with the Lord. Let us also 
leave the sacrament table with a de- 
termination to keep the covenant that 
we make there. 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



When we are ordained to the priest- 
hood we enter into what is known as 
the oath and covenant of the priest- 
hood. We agree to magnify and honor 
that priesthood by living by every word 
that proceedeth from the mouth of God. 

Always there are blessings promised 
to those who keep the covenants made 
with the Lord. In the eighty-fourth 
section of the Doctrine and Covenants, 
the Lord mentions such promises, when 
he says: 

For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining 
these two priesthoods of which I have 
spoken, and the magnifying their calling, 
are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renew- 
ing of their bodies. 

They become the sons of Moses and of 
Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the 
church and kingdom, and the elect of God. 

Therefore, all those who receive the priest- 
hood, receive this oath and covenant [or 
enter into it] of my Father, which he can- 
not break, neither can it be moved. (D. & C. 
84:33-34, 40.) 

Wilford Woodruff, speaking upon this 
revelation, made note of the marvelous 
blessings that await the faithful bearers 
and sharers of the priesthood; our wives 
are not without the same blessings that 
come to the men who bear the priest- 
hood. Said Wilford Woodruff: 

Do we comprehend that if we abide the 
laws of the priesthood we shall become heirs 
of God and joint-heirs of Jesus Christ? Who 
can comprehend that by obeying the celes- 
tial law, all the Father hath shall be given 
unto us, exaltations, thrones, principalities, 
powers, dominions. Who can comprehend 
it? And yet it is here stated. 

Now, if we keep the laws and cove- 
nants of baptism, and honor the priest- 
hood and its covenants, we are then 
permitted to enter into the temple of 
the Lord and there again make cove- 
nants with him, which covenants if 
kept will qualify us for the fulness of 
joy in our Father's kingdom; and to be- 
come endowed with powers, rights, 
blessings, and promises of blessings that 
may embellish our lives and bless us 
eternally and bring us joy that is beyond 
our power to comprehend. 

We may also enter into that order 
of the priesthood known as the "new 
and everlasting covenant of marriage." 
Those who remain true to that cove- 
nant and to all other covenants are 
promised of the Lord that they will 
come forth in the resurrection of the 
just with their husbands and their wives 
as their companions, and with their chil- 
dren, if they are faithful and keep the 
covenants which they shall make, to live 
with them in a state of never-ending 
happiness. What hope, what assurance, 
what joy that should bring to the hearts 
of men! The great joy and consolation 
that comes from the divine assurance 
that the family ties may transcend the 
boundaries of death and continue eter- 
nally is priceless to all who love their 
families and their friends. 

We are indeed a covenant-making 
people. I hope and pray that we are 
JUNE 1955 



also a covenant-keeping people. Un- 
speakable joy, indescribable blessings 
and associations with those that we love 
await all who receive the covenants of 
God and who endure to the end, faith- 
ful and true. 

For — 

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither 
have entered into the heart of man, the 



things which God hath prepared for them 
that love him. (I Cor. 2:9.) 

And, of course, he has said that they 
that love him will keep his command- 
ments. 

May we go forth from this conference 
more determined than ever so to do, I 
pray in the name of Jesus Christ, the 
Lord. Amen. 



Ears to Hear 



the Living Prophets 

by Marion G. Romney 

OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 



My beloved brothers and sisters, you 
assembled in this building and you 
who look in by television and who 
isten in by radio: I plead with you to 
implore the Lord to give me his Spirit 
while I address you the next few mo- 
ments. I have sought humbly for his 
help, and I believe he will give me his 
Spirit. If he gives you his Spirit, too, 
these few minutes will be worth your 
while and mine, and be to the glory of 
God. 

I thought at first I would bore you 
with a written speech, but I believe I 
can do it without one. Moreover, as I 
give you the message I have for you, I 
want to look you straight in the eye. 

My office is that of a special witness 
of the Redeemer and of his gospel. I 
desire to have the spirit of that office 
and to testify to you of some eternal 
truths which are worth while to my 
brethren and sisters in the Church who 
have fervent testimonies, to members 
of my own family, whom I love, to 
every one of you who is looking in on 
this conference from the outside, to every 
soul who hears my voice, and to all the 
ends of the earth. What I have to say 
I did not learn through my five senses. 
I have learned a lot about the truth 
through my natural senses, the concepts 
I have came from what I have heard 
and read, but the truths to which I 
testify I have learned through revela- 
tion. 

Now, do not misunderstand, I do not 
propose to give a startling account of an 
open vision. I have not seen one. 
Neither have I heard an audible voice. 
Revelation comes through three or four 
channels. One is the open vision; an- 
other is the audible voice; another is 
the witness of the Spirit. Enos spoke of 
this method — the witness of the Spirit — 
when he said that he heard the voice of 
God say unto him, . . . "thy sins are 
forgiven thee." (Enos 5.) And then a 
little later, after he had prayed for his 
brethren, the Nephites, he said, 

. . . the voice of the Lord came into my 
mind again, saying: I will visit thy breth- 



ren according to their diligence in keeping 
my commandments. (Ibid., 10.) 

Recently I heard a famous character 
say, "What the world needs today is a 
prophet." That was a wise statement, 
but it is not exactly correct. The things 
the peoples of the world need today are 
ears to hear the living prophet, because 
we already have one. He has been sent 
by Almighty God, not only to the mem- 
bers of the Church, but also to you 
other good people who are seeing and 
hearing this service by television and 
hearing it over the radio. Most of the 
last three quarters of an hour that 
prophet has been standing before you, 
if you have been where you could see 
into this session. If you have not seen 
him, you have heard his voice. Presi- 
dent David O. McKay is a prophet of 
the Living God. If you are the type of 
person who would have believed that 
Moses was a prophet, had you lived in 
his day, you know that President McKay 
is a prophet. If you would have ac- 
cepted Elijah or even the Son of Man, 
you will accept President David O. 
McKay as a prophet of the Living God. 

There are other prophets who will 
talk to you during this conference. Two 
I will mention, the men who stand with 
President David O. McKay. As James 
and John stood beside Peter after the 
passing of the Redeemer, so President 
Stephen L Richards and President J. 
Reuben Clark, Jr., stand with President 
McKay. The three of them are proph- 
ets as much as any men who ever lived 
upon the earth have been prophets. I 
plead with you to hear their voices. 

There will be other men speak to you 
in the sessions of this conference who 
have been called with the same calling 
as the Twelve Apostles in the days of 
the Savior. These men will speak words 
of eternal life. They will bear record 
of the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ 
which you will need to accept and live 
by if you are to be true followers of 
Christ. These men will preach and 
teach the gospel of Jesus Christ as he 
himself defined it. 

(Continued on following page) 

403 



Marion 6. Romney 



Continued 



That there may be no misunderstand- 
ing as to what that gospel is, I want 
to read two or three verses from the 
statement of the Savior. After he had 
told his disciples that if the Church was 
built upon his gospel his Father would 
show forth his own works in it, but 
that if it was not built upon his gospel, 
but upon the works of men or upon the 
works of the devil, they would have 
joy in their works for a season, but by 
and by the end would come when they 
would be thrown down and cast into 
the fire, he said: 

. . . this is the gospel which I have given 
unto you — that I came into the world to 
do the will of my Father, because my 
Father sent me. 

Ard my Father sent me that I might be 
lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had 
been lifted up upon the cross, that I might 
draw all men unto me, that as I have been 
lifted up by men even so should men be 
lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, 
to be judged of their works, whether they 
be good or whether they be evil — 

And for this cause have I been lifted up; 
therefore, according to the power of the 
Father I will draw all men unto me, that 
they may be judged according to their 
works. (3 Nephi 27:13-15.) 

And then he added: 

Now this is the commandment: Repent, 
all ye ends of the earth, and come unto 
me and be baptized in my name, that ye 
may be sanctified by the reception of the 
Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless be- 
fore me at the last day. 

Verily, verily, I say unto you, thjs is my 
gospel. . . . (Ibid., 27:20-21.) 

In this short statement the Master 
named four eternal verities upon which 
all else in his gospel is founded: first, 
the relationship between himself and 
his Father; second, the fact of his atone- 
ment; third, the universal resurrection; 
and fourth, the judgment. 

As to the relationship between himself 
and his Father, he said: "I came into 
the world to do the will of my father; 
because my father sent me." This 
verity, so simply put, is the cornerstone 
of his gospel. A Christian brotherhood 
can no more be built without the ac- 
ceptance of the fact that Jesus is the 
Son of God than the superstructure of 
this great building can be supported 
without its foundation. The very burden 
of the Master's message during all his 
life was that he is the Son of God. 
The Father himself, who seldom speaks 
on any other question, time after time 
bore witness that Jesus is his Son. That 
fact is an essential part of the message 
of the restoration. 

That the atonement was a fact is as 
essential to the gospel of Jesus Christ 
as is the Sonship of Jesus. We have the 
sacrament to remind us every week of 
his atonement. The only purpose, or 
at least the main purpose, for which 
Jesus came into the world was to make 
the atonement. Others could have been 
sent to preach the gospel. As a matter 
of fact, others have been sent in every 

404 



other dispensation — Abraham, Enoch, 
Moses, for example, and in this dispen- 
sation the Prophet Joseph Smith. These 
great prophets taught the gospel of Jesus 
Christ as plainly as did Jesus himself. 
But in the Meridian of Time Jesus came. 
He came not only to .teach the gospel, 
but also to be the Redeemer of the 
world. He was the only one who quali- 
fied to be the Redeemer, first, because 
he and he alone had life within him- 
self — eternal life, which he inherited 
from his divine Father. He was the only 
one who ever lived a sinless life upon 
the earth, and he alone was foreordained 
to be the Redeemer. 

The resurrection is inherent in the 
atonement. Jesus said he' came to do 
the will of his Father, and that the will 
of his Father was that he should be 
lifted up upon the cross. He further 
said that the purpose for which he was 
to be lifted up upon the cross was that 
he might draw all men to him. That 
he does through the resurrection. 

The purpose for which men are to 
come before him after the resurrection 
is that they may be judged of the works 
which they have done in the flesh. 

These are the fundamentals of the 
gospel of Jesus Christ, as he put them 
in his own language. Having stated 
them, he followed with the command- 
ment, 

Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come 
unto me and be baptized in my name, that 
ye may be sanctified by the reception of 
the Holy Ghost. (Ibid., 27:20.) 

Now, all men who believe in Jesus 
and want to be his followers will have 
to accept those four verities. They will 
also have to obey the commandment. 
When the commandment is obeyed, 
they will receive the witness of the 
Holy Ghost. Surely they will receive 
it. It comes to every man who will live 
for it. As an example, I read to you a 
few lines from the testimony of a mis- 
sionary in the field. Six months ago 
today, he sat here in this building on 
his way to the mission field. After 
being in a foreign land for five months, 
learning a foreign language, he wrote 
this to his parents: 

When I first came over here and started 
in this missionary work, I did not know 
if I was going to be able to last it out. 
It was really hard on me to go out from 
door to door and have the people laugh 
at me and not listen to me. And for a 
while there I really wondered if I did have 
a testimony of the gospel. I knew that if 
I did not have a very strong one that I 
would not be able to stick it out. The 
devil was really working on me, too, be- 
cause I had a feeling of unrest and uncon- 
tentedness, and I did not have the desire 
to go out and give the message to the peo- 
ple. 

But today there is nothing I would rather 
do. The Lord has blessed me with a very 
strong testimony of the gospel. I know 
without any doubt that Jesus is the Christ, 
the Son of God, and that God lives and 
he has a body of flesh and bones. I know 
that Joseph Smith, Jr. was and is a prophet 



of God, that he restored the gospel here on 
the earth in these latter days. I know that 
the leaders of the Church today are proph- 
ets, seers, and revelators, and there is noth- 
ing I would rather do than tell these peo- 
ple we come in contact with that I know 
that these things are true. . . . 

I pray that I may be a worthy representa- 
tive of my family and my Church and the 
Lord, and I bear you this testimony through 
the gift of the Holy Ghost and in the name 
of Jesus Christ. 

Now, there is a twenty-year-old lad 
who has that witness. He knows, be- 
cause he has been touched through the 
sixth sense, if you will, the witness of 
the Spirit, that these eternal verities are 
true. 

Oh, my beloved brothers and sisters, 
my good friends whom I have never 
seen and who have never seen me, I 
bear witness to you that there is revela- 
tion in this day, that there is a power 
from God which wants to come into 
our hearts and bring us peace, that peace 
which will be conducive to the peace 
of the world, of which our great living 
prophet spoke this morning. I bear this 
witness to you in the name of Jesus 
Christ. Amen. 



Patriarch To The Church 




Eldred G. Smith 



Sunday Afternoon Session 
April 3, 1955 

Humility 
Builds Faith 



by Eldred G. Smith 

PATRIARCH TO THE CHURCH 



Brothers and sisters, I seek an interest 
in your faith and prayers. This is 
a humbling experience, and I hope 
that I will always appreciate the honors 
and the blessings that have been given 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



to me and that I shall always appre- 
ciate the blessings of the Lord. 

The other night a cartoon appeared 
in The Deseret News which showed 
Uncle Sam deluged in the overflowing 
contents of a large horn of plenty. The 
title read, "Isn't it time we count our 
blessings?" These cartoonists have a 
gift of catching the essence of a situa- 
tion and portraying it very graphically. 
We live in a land blessed above all 
other nations — not only a choice land, 
but also a choice generation. In ad- 
dition to all the luxuries of modern liv- 
ing, we have the blessings of the fulness 
of the gospel. Today we do not have 
the physical opposition of hardship and 
persecution that we had in the earlier 
days. 

The Church is growing very rapidly, 
and our missionaries are having amaz- 
ing success. The people of the world 
are impressed with the accomplishments 
of the Church. But, brothers and sis- 
ters, if we learn anything from history — 
and history is our greatest teacher — we 
learn that our present favorable condi- 
tions may have a hidden danger. Some 
of these dangers were referred to by 
President McKay this morning. Do you 
remember what happened so often in 
the Book of Mormon? When the peo- 
ple were righteous, they enjoyed pros- 
perity. With prosperity came a feel- 
ing of self-sufficiency and pride. They 
forgot to acknowledge the Lord as the 
Giver of all their blessings. They lost 
their humility. Not until they were 
chastened and humbled did righteous- 
ness and prosperity return. 

Let us enjoy the prosperity in which 
we live, with humble gratitude in our 
hearts, expressing our thanks to the Lord. 
Let us be humble in all our prayers. 
Beware of lip service. Remember how 
the Lord criticized the hypocrites who 
prayed openly for the glory of men. He 
said, 

Verily I say unto you, they have their 
reward. (Matt. 6:5.) 

It is not always the words we use in 
prayer that count so much as the spirit 
in which they are said. If we are truly 
humble, we will acknowledge the hand 
of the Lord in all our righteous en- 
deavors. Praying without humility is 
praying without faith. You just cannot 
have true faith without humility. What 
better example do we have than the 
simple, humble prayer of a child? 

President George Albert Smith has 
told a story which I think will bear 
repeating. 

It was about a nine-year-old boy who 
was to undergo a serious operation. As 
they prepared to give him the anes- 
thetic, he asked those attending him to 
pray for him. When they told him they 
could not, he said, "If you can't pray 
for me, will you please wait while I 
pray for myself?" 

They removed the sheet, and he knelt 
on the operating table, bowed his head 
and said, "Heavenly Father, I am an 
orphan boy. I am awful sick. Won't 
you please make me well? Bless these 
men who are going to operate that they 
JUNE 1955 



will do it right. If you will make me 
well, I will try to be a good man. Thank 
you, Heavenly Father, for making me 
well." 

When he finished praying, he lay 
down. The doctors' and nurses' eyes 
were filled with tears. Then he said, 
"I am ready." 

The operation was successful, and the 
boy speedily recovered. 

The doctor later said, "I have oper- 
ated on hundreds of people, men and 
women who thought they had faith to 
be healed, but never, until I stood over 
that little boy have I felt the presence 
of God as I felt it then. That boy 
opened the windows of heaven and 
talked to his Heavenly Father as one 
would talk to another, face to face. I 
am a better man for having had the 
experience of hearing a small boy talk 
to his Father in heaven as if he were 
present." 

Humility is one of the qualities that 
helps build faith. Would a missionary 
be successful if he were not humble? He 
has to be teachable with a receptive 
mind before he can teach others, and 
to be teachable, he must be humble. 
And we should all be missionaries. 

All the requirements of living the 
gospel become easier through humility. 

A young man told me his experience 
in becoming a member of the Church, 
which is typical of many in their activi- 
ties t>f investigating the Church. He 
said the missionaries came to the lesson 
on the Word of Wisdom. He and his 
wife were both users of tobacco. After 
the meeting was over and the mission- 
aries had left, they talked it over with 
each other and decided between them- 
selves, "Well, if that is what the Lord 
wants and if this is the Lord's Church, 
we will try it." He said that he was not 
particularly concerned about himself, 
he thought he could do it easily; he 
was worried about his wife; she had 
never tried to quit before. On the other 
hand, he had quit several times. After 
proving to himself that he could quit, 
of course, he went back to the use of 
cigarets again. But he said in this case, 
it was just the reverse. His wife quit 
without any apparent difficulty, but he 
had tremendous difficulty. He became 
nervous and irritable. He could not 
rest. He was cranky among his fellow 
workers. He could not sleep at night. 
But inasmuch as his wife had quit, he 
was not going to be outdone by her. 
So, one night, he became so restless, so 
disturbed that he could not sleep, and 
his wife suggested to him that he pray 
about it. He thought that was a good 
joke. He ridiculed the idea of prayer; 
he said, "This is something I have to 
do. Nobody can help me with this. I 
can do this." But as the night passed, 
and he had done everything he could 
to stimulate sleep and rest without any 
success, finally in despair he humbled 
himself enough to kneel at the side of 
the bed and pray vocally. According to 
his own testimony, he said that he got 
up from his prayer, got into bed, went 
to sleep, and has never been tempted 
by cigarets since. He has absolutely 
lost the taste for tobacco. He said, 



"The Word of Wisdom was not a health 
program for me. It was a lesson in 
humility." He said, "I had to learn 
humility." That is what it meant to 
him. As it is with many of the re- 
quirements of the Church, we have to 
demonstrate humble obedience. 

It is a humbling experience to look 
into the sky and contemplate the stars — ■ 
just try to count all those you can see 
with the naked eye. Throughout the 
ages, man has tried to count them, and 
as telescopes have been made larger and 
larger, the scope has increased until we 
realize the utter impossibility of num- 
bering all the stars. How small are we 
then, when we consider that God is the 
Master and Creator of the universe. 

Just stand on the rim of the Grand 
Canyon and feel your insignificance as 
you gaze on the grandeur and immensity 
of nature or watch the beauties of 
Niagara and realize your own weakness 
in the presence of such great power. 

Then ask yourself as David asked our 
Maker and the Creator of all: "What is 
man that thou art mindful of him?" 
(Ps. 8:4.) 

Yes, God is mindful of you and me 
because we are his children. He has 
given us this earth and all we have — 
the very air we breathe, food to eat, 
life itself. He rewards us for every good 
deed. Of ourselves we are nothing. 
Brothers and sisters, let us not be self- 
sufficient. Let us not forget to be hum- 
ble and acknowledge the Lord, who is 
so good to us. 

King Benjamin told his people: 

And now, in the first place, he hath 
created you, and granted unto you your 
lives, for which ye are indebted unto him. 

And secondly, he doth require that ye 
should do as he hath commanded you; for 
which if ye do, he doth immediately bless 
you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye 
are still indebted unto him, and are, and 
will be forever and ever; therefore, of what 
have ye to boast? 

And now I ask, can ye say aught of your- 
selves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say 
that ye are even as much as the dust of 
the earth; yet ye were created of the dust 
of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to 
him who created you. (Mosiah 2:23-25.) 

My brothers and sisters, be not lifted 
up in the pride of your hearts that you 
forget the Giver of all your blessings. 
Do not let self-righteousness rob you of 
humility before God. Acknowledge him 
in all things. Let your faith be simple 
and childlike. 

On one occasion, 

. . . came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, 
Who is the greatest in the kingdom of 
heaven? 

And Jesus called a little child unto him, 
and set him in the midst of them, 

And said, Verily I say unto you. Except 
ye be converted, and become as little chil- 
dren, ye shall not enter into the kingdom 
of heaven. ' 

Whosoever therefore shall humble himself 
as this little child, the same is greatest in 
the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 18:1-4.) 

May we then be humble as a little 
child is my prayer in the name of Jesus 
Christ. Amen. 

405 



THE PRESIDING BISHOPRIC 




Joseph L. Wirthlin 
Presiding Bishop 




Thorpe B. Isaacson 



Carl W. Buehner 



"Upon You 



My Fellow Servants" 

by Thorpe B. Isaacson 

OF THE PRESIDING BISHOPRIC 



President McKay, President Richards, 
President Clark, my beloved breth- 
ren of the General Authorities, my 
dear brothers and sisters and friends: 

I feel very humble in standing be- 
fore this great audience today, and I 
sincerely ask for a solemn prayer in 
your hearts in my behalf. I am grate- 
ful to be here with you in this great 
general conference of the Church. Truly, 
we have been spiritually strengthened 
and built up in our faith. We come 
here for that purpose, and I pray that 
the Lord will help me that I may say 
something that will give you strength 
and increase your faith and your testi- 
mony. 

We spend much of our time in our 
business and temporal affairs, in our 
educational, social, and recreational 
life. We spend a great deal of our time 
in government and politics. Probably 
that is as it should be, but I wonder 
how much time we actually spend in 
developing the spiritual side of our 
lives — probably, may I say, the better 
part of our lives? The older I become, 
the more I realize that this is the better 
side of our lives and certainly the most 
important side of our lives. 

It is not uncommon for thousands of 
us Latter-day Saints to bow our heads in 
prayer and close our eyes, and to follow 
the prayer of him who may be mouth. 
Truly we are a praying people. The 
world has judged us to be a praying 
people, and we confess that we not only 

406 



pray in large gatherings at conference, 
but we also pray every day of our lives, 
and we accept the principle of prayer. 
I would like to say a few words about 
the Aaronic Priesthood. I am directing 
my remarks particularly to those con- 
cerned with Aaronic Priesthood boys 
from twelve to twenty-one. There are 
approximately seventy thousand of them 
in the stakes of the Church, not count- 
ing the missions. We also have about 
that same number of Senior members 
of the Aaronic Priesthood, wonderful 
men who bear the Aaronic Priesthood, 
or a total of approximately 140,000 men 
and boys holding that wonderful priest- 
hood, the Aaronic Priesthood, which 
gives them the power and the blessing 
and the authority and the responsibility 
of acting in the name of God, our Eter- 
nal Father. 

I hope, parents, that you will take an 
interest in these Aaronic Priesthood 
boys. Fathers and mothers, help them 
on Sunday mornings. They are sleepy; 
they are tired; they are growing boys. 
Help them to get up on Sunday morn- 
ing and attend their priesthood meet- 
ings. You wonderful wives of the Senior 
members, encourage your husbands on 
Sunday morning to get up in time to 
put on their Sunday clothes and go to 
Church. That will give to them and 
to you great blessings that you will not 
know any other way. 

May I try briefly to portray some of 
the incidents concerning the restoration 



of the Aaronic Priesthood? I would 
like to take you back to the beautiful 
Susquehanna River, near Harmony, 
Pennsylvania. Joseph Smith and Oliver 
Cowdery, two young men, age twenty- 
three and twenty-two, respectively, stood 
on those beautiful banks of the Sus- 
quehanna River in Pennsylvania. Their 
faces reflected the seriousness of their 
thoughts. It was evident that peace 
permeated their entire beings, and every 
act bespoke humility and faith in God, 
their Eternal Father. They had inten- 
tionally secluded themselves from the 
world that they might seek the counsel 
of their Father in heaven. 

May 15, 1829 — it was a beautiful day. 
Winter was over. Spring was in the 
air. Nature had painted the leaves of 
the trees with a delicate green. The 
song of the birds overhead blended with 
the sounds of the river to produce 
harmonious overtones that added seren- 
ity to that beautiful occasion. The sun 
cast its golden rays through the motion- 
less leaves of the semi-dense overgrowth, 
making a wonderful study in light and 
shadow. All was calm and peaceful, 
that day. It was indeed a sacred spot 
and a sacred hour. Cares and worries 
and concern were largely overcome by 
the handiwork of God. The harmonious 
beauty that surrounded them contributed 
to the sacredness of the place and of 
the occasion, but the seriousness of their 
mission made them semi-oblivious to it. 
They now knelt together in humble 
prayer, seeking guidance from God, 
their Eternal Father. 

These two young men were concerned 
about the principle of baptism for the 
remission of sins, and they desired to 
know more concerning the details of 
this sacred ordinance. What was the 
proper mode? How, and to whom, and 
by whom should this ordinance be per- 
formed? In their work of translating 
the Book of Mormon they had become 
concerned regarding the problem, as 
they contrasted the instructions of that 
sacred book with the practices of the 
churches of that day. They knew, how- 
ever, that their Father in heaven would 
supply the wisdom they now sought. 

And while they were engaged in 
prayer, a messenger, whom God had 
sent, appeared to them, and he spoke 
unto them. "I am thy fellow servant." 
The resurrected John the Baptist now 
stood before them — he, who had come 
out of the wilderness crying repentance 
to the people of his day; he, who had 
baptized our Lord and Savior at Beth- 
abara in the River Jordan. Yes, this 
was the same John who on that sacred 
occasion heard the Father's voice from 
heaven declare, "This is my beloved 
Son, in whom I am well pleased." 
(Matt. 3:17.) This was the same John 
who witnessed the Holy Ghost descend 
on Jesus; he, the literal descendant 
of Aaron who held the keys of the 
Aaronic Priesthood by right and ordi- 
nation; he of whom the Lord said, 
"No greater prophet born of woman" 
(see Luke 7:28); he, who had been 
beheaded for his courageous denuncia- 
tion of sin and for his love of truth. 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



Now he stood before them in majesty; 
the glory that surrounded him was far 
more brilliant than the May sunshine. 
His presence dispelled all doubts and 
all fears, and these two young men 
opened their souls to partake of his 
great wisdom. 

He then laid his hands upon thejr 
heads and conferred upon them the 
Aaronic Priesthood keys which he had 
held throughout the centuries. The 
words of that ordination prayer were in- 
delibly impressed upon the minds of 
these two young men: 

Upon you my fellow servants, in the 
name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood 
of Aaron, which holds the keys of the min- 
istering of angels, and of the gospel of re- 
pentance, and of baptism by immersion for 
the remission of sins; and this shall never 
be taken again from the earth, until the 
sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto 
the Lord in righteousness. (D. & C. 13.) 

He then told them that the Aaronic 
Priesthood was an appendage of the 
Melchizedek Priesthood, that it had not 
the power of the laying on of hands for 
the gift of the Holy Ghost, but that this 
power should later be given to them. 
Then he told these two young men that 
he came under the direction of Peter, 
James, and John, who held the keys of 
the Priesthood of Melchizedek, which 
priesthood, in due time, would be con- 
ferred upon them and which later was 
conferred upon them. 

These two young men were then di- 
rected by this messenger to go down into 
the river, that beautiful Susquehanna 
River. Joseph Smith was instructed to 
baptize Oliver, and Oliver, in turn, 
was instructed to baptize Joseph. They 
were then to ordain each other to the 
Aaronic Priesthood by the laying on of 
hands. Joseph ordained Oliver to the 
Aaronic Priesthood first, and Oliver 
then ordained Joseph. 

This glorious spiritual experience that 
followed their baptism and ordination 
to the priesthood was accompanied by 
the spirit of prophecy. As they left this 
hallowed spot, their hearts were light. 
The Aaronic Priesthood was again re- 
stored to the earth by an angel of God 
to his servants, the first time in many 
centuries for man to be divinely com- 
missioned with the priesthood. This 
vision demonstrated conclusively that 
the heavens were not closed and gave 
positive proof of the promise of the 
resurrection. 

I bear you my testimony that I know 
this priesthood was restored to the earth. 
I bear you my testimony that I know 
God lives and that Jesus is the Christ, 
the Son of God, our Redeemer and our 
Savior, our Elder Brother. I bear you 
my testimony that I know this is the 
true work that we are engaged in, and I 
know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet 
of God. I know that President David 
O. McKay is a true, living prophet of 
God, our Eternal Father, and I bear you 
that testimony, and I know it to be true, 
and I know it by the power and gift of 
the Holy Ghost, that testifies to me that 
this is true. I bear you that testimony 
in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 
JUNE 1955 



Zion Must Arise 

and Shine Forth 



by Ezra Taft Benson 

OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 



My brethren and sisters and friends, 
seen and unseen: I approach this 
assignment this afternoon in deep 
lumility. It is truly a sobering expe- 
rience and yet a signal honor. I seek 
the inspiration of heaven and your faith 
and prayers as I attempt to speak for a 
few moments. 

I am very grateful for the oppor- 
tunity of being here at this great con- 
ference. I am grateful to President 
McKay for inviting me to come, and I 
would like to say to him, in response 
to his kind words, that I am sure no 
one on earth is as happy as I that I am 
able to be here today. 

I am very grateful that the Lord per- 
mitted our plane to land during the 
storm last night, just in time to get to 
that great priesthood meeting. As 
President McKay referred to the fact 
that seventy-one different gatherings 
were assembled last night, and that we 
had never had this many outlets for the 
general priesthood meeting, I thought of 
a rather humorous thing that was said 
by one of our national entertainers on 
TV, who is helping in a" promotion pro- 
gram for greater consumption of dairy 
products. We have had some excess of 
these commodities. This entertainer has 
been employed by the farmers of this 
country, through the American Dairy 
Association, whose president is one of 
our stake presidents. On the air he ex- 
pressed his pride at being associated with 
this great organization, not only an or- 
ganization of farmers, but also many 
millions of dairy cows. "Now," he said, 
"ladies and gentlemen, there may be 
organizations with more branches, hut I 
am sure there is no organization with 
more outlets." 

I rejoice with you, my brethren and 
sisters, in this great conference. I have 
received a spiritual uplift from the testi- 
monies borne, and I am particularly 
grateful that I was able to hear the 
messages of the First Presidency in the 
priesthood conference session last night 
and again today. I cannot think of a 
richer experience than the experience 
of the last twenty-four hours. 

I am grateful for all of the blessings 
that are mine. I have been sitting here 
today enumerating them. I am grateful 
to be able to live in this day, to enjoy 
the freedoms and the liberties which are 
ours and the associations which we have 
in the Church and in this great nation. 

I am grateful for the confidence and 
the love of my brethren and sisters in 
the Church. 

As I listened to that great message of 
the President this morning, a message 
which we all need in our homes, my 
heart filled with gratitude and thanks- 
giving that the Prophet of God could 



in very deed speak as one having au- 
thority on this very sacred and important 
subject of the home and family. I am 
grateful for my home and my family. I 
am grateful for my companion and for 
her inspiration, strength, and help. I 
know that I could not have accom- 
plished the little that I have achieved, 
without her great faith, devotion, and 
support. 

I am grateful that I have come from 
a good Latter-day Saint home. 

I thank the Lord for the opportunity 
that has been mine to associate with 
my brethren of the General Authorities. 
For nine glorious years I had almost 
daily association with them. The last 
two years I have been in their presence 
much less frequently, and I am sure 
they will never know fully how much 
I have missed the very close and inti- 
mate association of those earlier years. 

I am grateful for the faith and prayers 
of the Saints and for the support of good 
people everywhere in the responsibilities 
which are mine now in the government 
as well as in the Church. I thank God 
for the letters that have come during 
hours of stress from faithful members 
of the Church and good people else- 
where. 

President McKay spoke of these won- 
derful mission presidents, and they are 
wonderful men. As he did so I thought 
of one who lies ill in a local hospital, 
whose illness I learned about since com- 
ing to this conference — one with whom 
I had the great pleasure of walking the 
streets of Holland at the close of the 
war — one of the most valiant. Presi- 
dent Cornelius Zappey,* if you are lis- 
tening in today, may I say to you that 
we love you, that God loves you for 
your devotion, and it is our prayer that 
he may see fit to restore you fully and 
speedily to health and strength. It is 
my hope and prayer that someday we 
may be able to team up again as mis- 
sionaries, if not in this life, then in the 
eternities to come. 

I am grateful for the glorious saving 
principles of the gospel, my brethren 
and sisters, for my progenitors who had 
the courage and the strength to accept 
the truth when they heard it and to join 
themselves with an unpopular people. 
I am grateful for the rich heritage which 
is mine. I am thankful for the mission 
of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and for 
those who have succeeded him, for their 
valiant devotion to the truth. I am 
grateful that I have been made the re- 
cipient of the priceless blessings that 
have come through the gospel. 

*President Zappey passed away April 22, 1955. He 
was a former president of both the Netherlands and 
the East Central States Missions. He had been re- 
leased from the latter mission in March 1955. 

407 



Ezra Taft Benson continued 

Today I have in my heart a love not 
only for these, but also for all of God's 
children. I have no ill feeling toward 
any human being. With you, I hate 
sin, but I love the sinner. We all have 
need to repent. 

I rejoice in the spread of the gospel 
and the growth of the Church in all 
the world. I have been thrilled as I 
have read the accounts of President 
McKay's visits to the missions in the 
South Pacific. I thrilled with the mes- 
sages last night from two of our as- 
sociates who reported on missionary ac- 
tivities in the South Pacific and way up 
in far-off Finland. I am very grateful, 
my brethren and sisters, for all of these 
priceless blessings. 

I realize that through the ages there 
has been a tendency for truth to be 
pretty much on the scaffold and error 
on the throne. I recognize that there 
has been a tendency to revere prophets 
dead and to persecute the living oracles. 
I recognize that there are two great 
forces in the world. And as the Book 
of Mormon prophet said, 

For it must needs be, that there is an 
opposition in all things. (2 Nephi 2:11.) 

I am grateful that we have our free 
agency which to me is an eternal bless- 
ing, an eternal principle. I recognize 
that today Satan, the adversary, is still 
alert. He is not using the means of 
persecution towards this people which 
he once used, but he is still the enemy 
of truth, and he is using other methods 
today. He is probably using the method 
of encouraging complacency. He is 
probably making an effort to lull us 
away into a false security because things 
seem well in Zion. One of the Book 
of Mormon prophets said this would be 
the case in the last days. You remem- 
ber Nephi's prediction when he said: 

For behold, at that day shall he rage in 
the hearts of the children of men, and stir 
them up to anger against that which is 
good. 

And others will he pacify, and lull them 
away into carnal security, that they will 
say: All is well in Zion, yea, Zion pros- 
pereth, all is well — and thus the devil 
cheateth their souls, and leadeth them 
away carefully down to hell. 

Therefore, wo be unto him that is at 
ease in Zion! 

Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well! 
(Ibid., 28:20-21, 24-25.) 

Now, of course, the Church itself is 
God's great instrument to build and to 
save and to exalt men everywhere, 
through the application of the simple 
principles of the gospel. It is a way of 
life that will make men happy, and 
"men are, that they might have joy." 
This great instrument must withstand 
opposition and complacency. 

The program of the Church, the mis- 
sion of the Church is to build character, 
to lift men and women up, through 
giving them an opportunity to partici- 
pate and take responsibility. It is our 
great privilege to learn of the truth and 
help to spread it to God's children 

408 



everywhere, thus providing the means of 
leading them to exaltation. 

In the last few weeks I have had the 
glorious privilege of visiting eleven of 
our Latin American countries. The 
visit was threefold in character. First 
of all, it was a response to invitations 
from leaders of those nations, particu- 
larly ministers of agriculture; it also 
provided an opportunity to get better 
acquainted with their agriculture, and 
also to learn something of the results 
of the exports which we are making 
into those nations, of breeding stock, 
such as beef cattle, dairy cattle, hogs, 
poultry, and also many strains of seeds; 
it also provided an opportunity, so the 
President of the United States thought, 
to help strengthen the bonds of friend- 
ship and understanding with our splen- 
did neighbors south of the border. 

I want to say to you, my brethren and 
sisters, it was a most satisfying experi- 
ence. I am very grateful for the con- 
tacts I had with the Presidents of those 
nations, with the ministers of agricul- 
ture, and with the people generally. I 
appreciate the opportunity of visiting on 
ranches, farms, and plantations, getting 
into the homes of the people and feel- 
ing of their warm spirit and their 
friendliness toward the people of the 
United States. 

I think the outlook down there is most 
encouraging. Those countries are on 
the march today, and they want to team 
up with the United States. They have 
a deep love and respect for our people 
here. They admire and respect our 
technology, our methods, our free enter- 
prise system. They are very anxious 
to raise the standards of living of their 
own people by adopting the practices 
which we have followed in this coun- 
try. There is an economic awakening 
in many of those countries, and I look 
for unheard of developments in the 
years ahead. I hope that those develop- 
ments will include an increase and a 
spread of the restored gospel. They are 
moving, as it were, almost from the one- 
horse handplow to the caterpillar 
tractor overnight. They are not doing 
it with the slow transition as we have 
done it here. 

I found they like to be referred to as 
Americans. They are very proud that 
they have thousands of their students 
here in the United States learning our 
way of life and learning of our agricul- 
ture and our technology. I found they 
were very happy to learn that to the 
Latter-day Saints the Promised Land, 
the land of Zion, includes all of North 
and South America. I was pleased to 
find, too, that there is evidence that 
communism has largely failed in those 
countries. True, there are some danger 
spots, still, but there is evidence that 
political stability is increasing. I was 
very much pleased as I visited personally 
with the Presidents of those republics, 
to hear them speak out in support of the 
principles of freedom which have meant 
so much to our great nation and our 
good neighbor to the north of us. 

Our technical aid down' south is pay- 
ing off. They need technical assistance 



and encouragement more than they need 
grants. I feel that the future is bright, 
and I am very happy that our Church 
missions are spreading out in those 
lands. 

I. came back impressed that those peo- 
ple want us to help them to help them- 
selves. The future looks bright, and I 
said to some of my associates upon my 
return that if I were a young man of 
twenty-five today, I would consider 
heading south. Probably when we get 
the inter-American highway completed, 
it will be easier for us to visit our 
neighbors to the south. I hope so. 

I was pleased, too, to find in the 
travels to these eleven countries, that 
our Mormon people are found in almost 
every nation. Generally speaking, they 
are giving a good account of themselves. 
I was pleased with the contacts I had 
with them. Beginning in Cuba, in our 
visit with the then President-elect, 
Batista, and continuing through ten 
other nations — I was pleased that we 
had the opportunity to say something 
about the Church and explain the funda- 
ments of the gospel. 

Sister Benson is a more effective mis- 
sionary, I think, than her husband. It 
seems to me we have been shipping 
Church books down there for days 
since our return. We have sent many 
copies of our literature, mostly in re- 
sponse to conversations which she had 
with the gracious wives of the Presi- 
dents, ministers of agriculture, the am- 
bassadors, and others. 

I was pleased to meet our servicemen 
in Puerto Rico from Ramsey Air Force 
Base and from Fort Buchanan. In the 
Virgin Islands where I met, as a mem- 
ber of the Virgin Islands Corporation 
Board, I was surprised, as a certain 
technician, an electrical engineer, was 
invited in to consult with us, to find 
that he was a member of the Church. 
As similar experiences were repeated, I 
thought of the comment made by a 
businessman from the northcentral 
states sometime ago who registered in a 
Washington hotel and asked if there 
were any Mormons in Washington. 
The hotel clerk replied, "I suppose there 
are. They seem to be everywhere." 

Well, I found them down there. Not 
very many, but a few of them almost 
everywhere! In Trinidad, which is in 
the British orbit, we found a member 
of the Church serving as one of the 
secretaries of the consulate. In Vene- 
zuela we had received advance letters 
from one or two families expressing the 
hope that we might hold a service while 
we were there. Then when I had the 
pleasure of addressing the American 
Chamber of Commerce in Caracas, who 
should be presiding there as president, 
but one of our Mormon boys from 
Tooele, Utah. It was a great thrill as 
we went from Caracas over to Bar- 
quisimeto to have the opportunity of 
holding a service in a hotel room with 
representatives of three or four Mormon 
families in that area and to find that 
they were eager to get a Sunday School 
started. 

In Panama, in Costa Rica, in Nicara- 
gua, of course, we found groups of the 
Saints and missionaries. It was always 
a great pleasure to see them £t the air- 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



ports or to hold a brief meeting with 
them or to join them for breakfast or 
lunch. I wish our busy schedule might 
have permitted us to spend more time 
with those fine groups. Quite by ac- 
cident, because of plane trouble, we 
stopped in Guatemala. We had the 
opportunity during seven hours there, 
to view the lovely new mission home 
and chapel and to have a long visit 
with the ambassador, and to hear him 
speak in praise about our people. In 
fact, I was pleased everywhere that we 
went to find the Church well spoken of. 

We completed our little two and a 
half weeks swing by spending a Sabbath 
day in Mexico City with President and 
Sister Bowman and the missionaries 
and the Saints in a large gathering 
there. Later the next day, as I visited 
with the President of that republic, he 
expressed surprise and apparently 
seemed somewhat pleased to find the 
number of people we have right in Mex- 
ico City of our faith. He had known 
of our people in the Colonies, and he 
spoke highly of the Church and its 
people. 

So, I might go on, my brothers and 
sisters. I found, too, a very friendly 
press, as President McKay has reported. 
I think there was not one loaded ques- 
tion put to us in all of the press con- 
ferences that we had. It was not un- 
common at the end of an hour- long 
press conference to have representatives 
of the press gather around after we had 
discussed agriculture, and say, "Now, 
Mr. Secretary, we would like to turn to 
another subject. We would like you to 
tell us something about the Church." 
It was always a great pleasure, of course, 
to tell them something about the history, 
the organization, and the doctrine of the 
Church. 

So, my brethren and sisters — and I've 
not even mentioned Colombia — it seems 
to me that we have a great opportunity 
now, as the Church moves out into the 
world. The Church has a wonderful 
reputation. It is well thought of. It is 
well-known. It is so important today 
that all of our people, whoever they are 
and whatever they are, live the gospel, 
that they keep the commandments of 
God. And if they are isolated, it is 
important that they arrange to hold 
services in their own homes, that they 
invite in their neighbors to their Sun- 
day Schools, that they might help to 
spread the gospel. In my humble 
judgment, the world is hungry for true 
religion, and we have it. 

I am sure, my brethren and sisters, 
that in the days ahead, many will ac- 
cept of the truth, particularly in the 
countries that I have just had the oppor- 
tunity to visit. 

I remember, as you do also, occasions 
where we have met with just a hand- 
ful of people in an isolated area, and 
how the Lord was there with his Spirit. 
I remember meeting the Saints, way up 
in Selbongen, East Prussia, right after 
the war and in isolated places in Hol- 
land. I remember meeting the Saints 
in Czechoslovakia, just small groups. 
JUNE 1955 



How well I remember that meeting re- 
ferred to by President Matis last night 
far up in Larsmo, Finland. It was a 
small, isolated group, but the Spirit of 
God was present and touched the hearts 
of the people. So it will be everywhere 
our people meet if we just remain true 
and faithful. God grant we may do so. 

May we be able to make our influence 
felt for good in the world because we 
must help to serve as the leaven which 
is going to leaven the world with right- 
eousness. In large measure, that is our 
mission. 

So, my brethren, may we prepare, as 
elders in Israel, to help enlarge and to 
strengthen the boundaries of Zion, en- 
large her stakes, and build up the king- 
dom. God expects us to arise and 
shine because we are the salt of the 
earth, the light of the world, and I 
believe the hope of the world because 
we are the stewards of the revealed 
truth of God. 

The Lord has made it very clear in 
the revelations. "Verily I say unto you 
all," he said, back in 1838, "Arise and 
shine forth, that thy light may be 
standard for the nations." (D. & C. 
115:5.) 

And six years earlier, he said to a 
then struggling Church, small in num- 
bers, inflicted with persecutions; 

For Zion must increase in beauty, and 
in holiness; her borders must be enlarged; 
her stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily 
I say unto you, Zion must arise and put 
on her beautiful garments. (Ibid., 82:14.) 

What are those garments? Those gar- 
ments are the garments of righteousness, 
the garments of devotion to the truth — 
the gospel in action. 



Our message is a world message, my 
brethren and sisters and friends. In 
that glorious first section in the Doctrine 
and Covenants, given as a preface to the 
Book of Commandments, the Lord had 
these words to say, which I quote to you 
in closing: 

Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith 
the voice of him who dwells on high, and 
whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I 
say: Hearken ye people from afar; and ye 
that are upon the islands of the sea, listen 
together. 

For verily the voice of the Lord is unto 
all men, and there is none to escape; and 
there is no eye that shall not see, neither 
ear that shall not hear, neither heart that 
shall not be penetrated. (Ibid., 1:1-2.) 

These are sobering words, words from 
the Master, Jesus the Christ, through 
his Prophet, Joseph Smith, to all God's 
children. 

May we not be at ease in Zion. We 
have a tremendous responsibility. This 
is God's work, my brethren and sisters 
and friends, and I give you my testi- 
mony today that I know that God lives, 
that he is a Personal God, that he hears 
and answers prayers. I know that Jesus 
is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, 
our Elder Brother, the Savior of man- 
kind. I know, too, that Joseph Smith 
is and was a Prophet of God, an instru- 
ment in the hands of the Almighty in 
ushering in this the last and the great- 
est of all gospel dispensations. The 
priesthood has been restored; the truth 
is here in its fulness. I know it as I 
know that I live, and I thank God for 
that testimony, and pray his blessings 
upon all of us, in the name of Jesus 
Christ. Amen. 



No Greater Joy 



by Oscar A. Kirkham 

OF THE FIRST COUNCIL OF THE SEVENTY 



I trust the Lord will be with me and 
bless me as I address you. 
In the Third Epistle of John, the 
fourth verse, are these words: 

I have no greater joy than to hear that 
my children walk in truth. 

The greatest gift that can come to a 
boy, as I review the humble experiences 
of my own life, is that he may have 
good guidance, that he may sense a faith 
in God, and enjoy the gospel of Jesus 



Christ, that he may receive the gift of 
the Holy Ghost and hold worthily the 
Holy Priesthood. 

The other evening a lad came to our 
home. He was accompanying a high 
priest. They were our ward teachers. 
The high priest said as he addressed 
us, "Brother Kirkham, we have a little 
message for you from our bishop con- 
cerning our religion." The message was 
given. We felt the spirit of it. It was 
simple and sincere. I thanked them, 

409 



Oscar A. Kirkham 



Continued 



then the high priest turned to the boy 
of fourteen, a teacher in the Aaronic 
Priesthood, and said, "John, you say a 
prayer for Brother Kirkham and his 
family." We were appreciative and 
listened, for we know that we have no 
greater joy than to know that we walk 
in truth. 

Coming down on the elevator in our 
office building the other day, a young 
man recognized me and he said, "This 
is my mother, Brother Kirkham. I'm 
just back from my mission. She has 
worked continuously for me while I've 
been away. She has kept me. She saw 
that my check came every month to pay 
my expenses. Now, the Lord being 
willing, Mother is going on a mission. 
I will pay her way." The greatest gift 
that comes to us in early life is to be 
guided in simple truths, and to do the 
will of our Heavenly Father. As Presi- 
dent McKay said to us this morning, 
"We are concerned with those simple, 
vital things that help us." That boy 
you meet tonight or tomorrow morning 
or the next day and what you say to 
him and do for him is all-important. 

I know a boy in Iowa who one day 
was plowing in an open field. He did 
not know at the time that a very dis- 
tinguished gentleman was passing by, 
but the man said, "The furrow in that 
open field was plowed so straight that 
I had to stop. Did you plow the first 
furrow in this field?" "Yes," said he. 



"They did not peg it off for you?" "No, 
sir." Then my friend said to the boy, 
"You'll plow many straight things in 
life. Good-bye." 

Several years went by. My friend 
came again to Iowa. He was met by a 
gentleman, this time in a fine automo- 
bile. "Do you remember being in these 
parts about twelve years ago?" "Yes, I 
have a note here in my book of a straight 
furrow plowed in an open field by a 
boy." "Well," said the man, "I don't 
want you to say anything to these peo- 
ple about this incident, but I am the 
mayor of this city. I want to say to 
you, I was behind that plow. I was 
that boy. You journeyed on over the 
hill that day on your way. What you 
said as we chatted about 'The straight 
furrow' has lingered with me through 
these years. I wanted you to know that 
those few words have given me encour- 
agement ever since that day." 

We philosophize; we delve into great 
truths — these things enrich our lives, but 
it is still the simple things that are ef- 
fective. We "have no greater joy than 
to hear that our children walk in truth." 

May God bless us that this joy may 
ever be ours and that we may ever ap- 
preciate the sacred words of the Lord 
as given in the Holy Scriptures and with 
courage and simplicity live the truth, 
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. 
Amen. 



» ♦ » 



Monday Morning Session, April 4, 1955 



"Every Good 



TREE'' 



by Mark E. Petersen 

OP THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 



Isn't it thrilling, brothers and sisters, 
to hear these glorious young people 
sing praises to God and express their 
trust in him? It gives you a wonderful 
feeling of confidence, doesn't it, to know 
that the rising generation, is made up of 
such marvelous young people. 

Two weeks ago my wife and I had 
the opportunity of attending a meeting 
of some hundreds of M Men and Gleaner 
Girls, and there again we were impressed 
with the fact that our young people are 
great. Those hundreds of young people 

410 



stood up in that meeting and gave the 
MIA theme for this year. I wish you 
could have heard them because they 
spoke with such clarity. They were in 
almost perfect unison, and as they said 
these words, it gave me a great thrill: 

Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and 
behold, the mysteries of God shall be un- 
folded unto you, and then shall you be 
made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal 
life is rich. (D. & C. 6:7.) 

As I say, hearing those voices in 



unison say those inspired words, moved 
me deeply inside. I was so thrilled that 
young people could stand and say and 
believe that "he that hath eternal life 
is rich." 

When my wife and I were in South 
America recently, we had the same kind 
of thrill because there we saw your sons 
and daughters, sometimes under diffi- 
cult and even adverse circumstances 
standing in the glory of their young 
manhood and womanhood, in the glory 
of their membership in this Church, in 
the glory of being missionaries for the 
Son of God, speak in languages pre- 
viously unknown to them, bearing testi- 
mony of the restoration of the gospel of 
Christ. Oh, how happy we- were! How 
humble we felt in their presence, and 
again came to us this great conviction 
that the youth of Zion are a great peo- 
ple. 

As I reflect upon the youth of Zion, 
I reflect also upon the homes from which 
they come. I know that great homes 
produce great people. Those homes 
need not be rich in this world's goods, 
but if they are rich in the wisdom of 
God, they are rich indeed, and young 
people who grow up in homes such as 
those are great young people. 

You recall that the Savior at one time 
said: ". . . every good tree bringeth forth 
good fruit." (Matt. 7:17.) I know that 
even from a good tree occasionally a 
piece of fruit may fall, and as the 
prodigal go the way of all the earth, 
but that does not change the great un- 
derlying fact that "every good tree 
bringeth forth good fruit." 

As I have studied your young people 
and mine, I have come to the conclu- 
sion that they are great because by and 
large they come from great homes. It 
has been my observation that where 
young people are active in the Church, 
as a general rule they come from homes 
where parents also are active in the 
Church. 

Now, there are some exceptions, I 
know, but I say as a general rule great 
homes produce great young people. 
Parents who are active in the Church 
usually produce children who are active 
in the Church, again proving the truth 
of the Savior's words that "every good 
tree bringeth forth good fruit." 

But I would like to read to you the 
rest of the Savior's words in that quota- 
tion. He said: "Every good tree bring- 
eth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree 
bringeth forth evil fruit." {Ibid., 7:17.) 

Now what about the meaning of those 
words? Do homes which are not classed 
as good homes produce evil young peo- 
ple? And if they do, who must bear 
the blame? 

There have been many public opin- 
ion polls taken in the United States, as 
you know, and I suppose they have 
touched almost every subject under the 
sun. There is not very much left un- 
covered by the time they get through. 

I have been shocked and astonished 
at one of these public opinion polls 
which indicates that there is a higher 
percentage of drinkers of alcoholic 
beverages in the age group of fifteen to 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



thirty years than in any other age group. 
This particular poll indicated that sixty- 
seven percent of American young people 
from fifteen to thirty years of age use 
alcoholic beverages occasionally or more 
or less regularly. 

Now these studies, and others, tell 
us where these young people learn to 
drink. Again I was astonished to learn 
that the majority of the American young 
people who drink liquor learn to drink 
from their own parents. 

A number of studies, as I say, have 
been made on this subject, some of them 
among college students, some among 
high school students, and even some 
elementary students have been brought 
into the study. One of the studies 
having to do with college students indi- 
cated that eighty-five percent of the 
drinking students have drinking parents. 
This same study, which included in- 
formation on students who abstain from 
the use of liquor, said that seventy-seven 
percent of the students who abstain from 
the use of liquor have both parents who 
abstain from the use of liquor. Isn't 
that a great lesson? The majority of 
the drinking students drink because their 
parents drink. The majority of the ab- 
staining students have parents who 
abstain. 

One of these studies was conducted 
in the state of Idaho by the department 
of social studies of the University of 
Idaho, and the figures sustain the gen- 
eral results as obtained in other studies 
in eastern United States. They found 
that the drinking habits of students fol- 
low almost exactly the drinking habits 
of parents. I quote just one line from 
their report: 

"The proportions of students who 
drank are approximately equal to the 
proportions of parents who drank with 
the knowledge of the students." 

In eastern United States a study was 
made along the same lines. After the 
completion of the survey those who con- 
ducted it reported: "It certainly is not 
surprising to find a tendency for students 
to follow the example of their parents 
in deciding whether or not to drink." 

Dr. Andrew C. Ivy, head of the de- 
partment of clinical science at the Uni- 
versity of Illinois, recently wrote an arti- 
cle in the magazine, Life and Health, 
entitled, "Why I Don't Drink." He 
commented on the fact that there are 
over sixty million drinkers in the United 
States, and after discussing that horrible 
fact, asked this question: "Who can 
save future citizens from drink?" He 
answered, "The fathers and mothers of 
today's children." 

And then he said this: "Children, 
teen-agers, and college students drink 
and do other things that harm their 
bodies, characters, and lives largely be- 
cause their parents do. If we are going 
to reverse the trend to moral decline 
and degeneration in our country, moth- 
ers as well as fathers are going to have 
to correct their own irresponsible be- 
havior." 

He goes on to say, "The question for 
parents to answer is: 'Has drinking alco- 
holic beverages contributed so much to 
my happiness that I want my child and 
JUNE 1955 



all children to take the one in twenty 
chance of becoming an alcoholic?' " 

Then he said, "Seventy percent of the 
chronic alcoholics in the United States 
started drinking as teen-agers." 

In studies that have been made with 
regard to smoking habits, the same type 
of thing has been developed. It is dis- 
covered that by and large smoking 
parents have smoking children, and ab- 
staining parents, by and large, have 
abstaining children. The same thing 
is true with Church activity, as I have 
already indicated. If parents reject 
religious activity, their children generally 
reject religious activity. If, on the other 
hand, as we have pointed out, parents 
are active and enthusiastic and faithful 
about their Church responsibilities, as 
a rule the children likewise are active. 

And so we may reach some definite 
conclusions and say that where parents 
smoke they can expect their children 
to smoke. Where parents drink, they 
may expect their children to drink. 
Where parents deny religious activity 
and interest, they can expect their chil- 
dren to deny religious interest. 

Now these same studies have gone 
into the questions: Why do people 
drink? Why do people smoke? I do 
not know anybody, with his eyes open, 
who would suppose that drinking would 
do him any good, or that smoking would 
do him any good. Even the merchants 
of these commodities are now changing 
the claims in some advertising that they 
are good for a person. I remember there 
was a time when they used to adver- 
tise that smoking was good for diges- 
tion, but they do not any more since 
the doctors have discovered that tobacco 
is one of the very worst things for your 
stomach, and that whether you smoke 
or chew the tobacco, you can get 
stomach ulcers from it, and you can 
develop cancer of the stomach from the 
ulcers. So tobacco companies have 
stopped advertising about how good for 
your digestion it is if you smoke cigarets. 

Why do people smoke, and why do 
they drink? According to these sur- 
veys, it is because they think it is smart. 
They think it is popular. They think 
it is the thing to do because the Joneses 
and others they happen to know and 
regard as smart also smoke or drink. 
For that reason they think they should 
take up the habit, and because parents 
who are blinded by this false notion of 
popularity lead their children, who are 
blinded by the bad example of their 
parents, they both fall into the ditch. 

So we can begin to see the truth in 
the Savior's words, can't we, that a cor- 
rupt tree will bring forth evil fruit. I 
ask you parents if you have the right to 
gamble with the future lives and happi- 
ness of your children. If we set our 
children an example which is almost 
sure to lead to failure, what is our re- 
sponsibility? If we should lead our own 
children into disaster, would we ever 
forgive ourselves? 

Two weeks ago Brother [Delbert L.] 
Stapley and I happened to have the 
privilege of being in the same confer- 
ence together. Brother Stapley there de- 
livered one of his wonderful talks, and 



in his discussion gave me a new point 
of view on an old subject, and with his 
permission I would like to mention it 
here. 

Brother Stapley was talking about the 
fact that children cannot be tempted by 
the devil before they are eight years of 
age because the Lord has not given 
Satan that right. Just suppose that there 
was a basketball game, and for eight 
minutes one of the teams was ruled off 
the floor while the remaining team 
stayed in there and pitched as many 
baskets as it could for eight minutes, 
and every basket would count. Just 
think about that. 

And suppose there was a football game 
in which one of the teams was ruled 
off the field while the other made touch- 
downs for eight minutes, and every 
touchdown would count, and it could 
make these touchdowns without any op- 
position from the other team. Just 
think what kind of score it could 
develop! 

You do not get that in athletics, but 
you do get it in the rearing of your 
children because during the first eight 
years of their lives, Satan has no right 
and no power to tempt those children. 
If they are tempted, if they sin, you 
have to blame somebody else besides 
Satan. During those first eight years 
you are left in the field without the 
opposition of Satan in the training of 
your children. For eight years you can 
train them, mold their characters, de- 
velop their faith, and teach them to 
pray, and to love God, and to keep his 
commandments, without any interfer- 
ence or any opposition from Satan. 

Have you ever thought of it that way? 
I hadn't until Brother Stapley men- 
tioned it, but I was glad he did because, 
as I say, it gave me a new point of view. 
The first eight years of a child's life in 
a Latter-day Saint home form the golden 
age for parents in the rearing of their 
children — a golden age when Mother 
and Father may set them the proper 
example, and play with them, and pray 
with them, and enjoy them, and de- 
velop Christlike traits of character in 
their children without the opposition 
of Satan. 

Have you that kind of home? In 
your home are you setting up the cir- 
cumstances and the surroundings where- 
by those children can get the most out 
of this golden age? Are you doing all 
you can while you do not have the 
interference of Satan to train those 
children? Or, on the other hand, are 
you careless enough so that you tempt 
your own children, so that you will 
lead them into paths of sin, so that you 
teach them by your own bad example 
how to do the things of the world? 

Well, I come back again to the 
Savior's words: ". . . every good tree 
bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt 
tree bringeth forth evil fruit." (Matt. 
7:17.) 

May our homes be good homes, from 
which we may send good young people, 
trained and reared in the gospel of 
Christ, is my humble prayer, in his 
holy name. Amen. 

411 



Prayer Makes the 
Difference 



by John Longden 

ASSISTANT TO THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 



Iff 



"y dear brothers and sisters, I am 
humbly grateful as I accept this 
great responsibility and assign- 
ment this morning, and testify to you 
that without the assistance of my Heav- 
enly Father I would not even be able 
to stand here. I am grateful this 
morning for faith in the gospel of Jesus 
Christ. I am grateful this morning for 
faith in a divine, Living God; in the 
divine mission of his Son, Jesus Christ. 
I am grateful for faith that the gospel 
of Jesus Christ has been restored in its 
fulness, and I reflect at this moment on 
the words of David, ofttimes referred to 
as the Psalmist David, as recorded in 
the twenty-seventh Psalm: 

The Lord is my light and my salvation; 
whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength 
of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 
(Psalms 27:1.) 

There was no fear in the heart and 
mind of David because I believe he was 
a prayerful man. He had implicit faith 
in God, his Father, and thus he was 
able to go forth in one experience as he 
faced the Philistine, the giant, Goliath. 
You will recall the great lesson there 
where Goliath indicated he would cut 
David up and feed him to the fowls 
and the beasts. David, even though 
he was small of stature by comparison, 
had the assistance of our Heavenly 
Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, and he 
said to Goliath: 

Thou comest to me with a sword, and 
with a spear, and with a shield: but I come 
to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, 
the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou 
hast defied. (I Sam. 17:45.) 

And therein was the strength of David 
because he had not defied God. He was 
willing to live in submission to the 
teachings of righteousness. I am sure 
there was no spirit of arrogance in the 
mind of David at that time, but he was 
a humble, prayerful man. 

We have a lesson in the attitude of 
prayer as given by the Master in the 
parable of the Pharisee and the pub- 
lican. We are told that the Pharisee 

412 



was grateful that he was not an extor- 
tioner. He was not an adulterer. He 
paid his tithes and his offerings. He 
fasted and he prayed, and he was not 
like unto this Jowly publican. 

And the publican, standing afar off, would 
not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, 
but smote upon his breast, saying, God be 
merciful to me a sinner. 

I tell you, this man went down to his 
house justified rather than the other: for 
he that exalteth himself shall be abased; 
and he that humbleth himself shall be ex- 
alted. (Luke 18:13-14.) 

We must have the spirit of humility 
as we seek God through this channel of 
prayer to give thanks unto him for all 
the blessings which are ours, particu- 
larly we, as members of the Church of 
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that 
we have membership in his great Church 
— not the church of man, but the 
Church of Jesus Christ, for it bears his 
name. 

Regarding the principle of prayer, the 
Savior, the Master himself, was asked by 
his disciples and others, "Teach us how 
to pray, and how shall we pray?" He 
replied: 

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our 
Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be 
thy name. 

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done 
in earth, as it is in heaven. 

Give us this day our daily bread. 

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive 
our debtors. 

And lead us not into temptation, but de- 
liver us from evil: For thine is the king- 
dom, and the power, and the glory, for 
ever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13.) 

We have there a simple prayer, a 
prayer that points the way to the throne 
of God, our Eternal Father, the Father 
of our spirits. The Savior further 
taught: 

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and 
ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened 
unto you: 

For every one that asketh receiveth; and 
he that seeketh findeth; and to him that 
knocketh it shall be opened. {Ibid,, 7:7-9.) 



I like the words of Robert Burns, the 
great Scotch poet: 

They never sought in vain who sought the 
Lord aright. 

I testify to you these words are true. 
As we seek the Lord aright, we shall not 
seek in vain. Jesus so taught. He said: 

If a son shall ask bread of any of you 
that is a father, will he give him a stone? 
or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give 
him a serpent? 

Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer 
him a scorpion? 

If ye then, being evil, know how to give 
good gifts unto your children: how much 
more shall your heavenly Father give the 
Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke 
11:11-13.) 

The Lord has revealed again in this 
day, as recorded in the Doctrine and 
Covenants in several sections (and 
I would commend your reading the 
twentieth, the thirty-first, the sixty-first, 
the sixty-eighth, and the ninety-third, 
which deal with this great power of 
prayer) that we should pray constantly, 
earnestly, and sincerely that we be not 
led into temptation, as has so beauti- 
fully been given to us this morning by 
Elder Petersen. We are told we should 
teach our children how to pray and to 
walk uprightly before the Lord. 

I want to tell the young people within 
the sound of my voice that it is nothing 
to be ashamed of that you humble your- 
self before the Lord in prayer. It is 
not a sign of weakness. I testify to you 
that it is a sign of great strength, for 
the Lord will be your light and your 
salvation. He is ever ready to assist 
us to continue in the path of righteous- 
ness. He does not fail us. 

I am grateful for the power of prayer. 
I was thrilled last August as I attended 
the MIA conference in Los Angeles to 
witness prayer in action. They were 
preparing a huge chorus of fifteen hun- 
dred voices to appear in the Hollywood 
Bowl. The young singers had had their 
prayer, and the concert was just about 
ready to begin. It was my privilege to 
go back stage with the wonderful, 
humble, prayerful directors and accom- 
panists. The purpose of this little 
gathering was to seek the Lord for his 
sustaining strength and power. Here 
were musicians with their degrees and 
their letters in music, who still relied on 
Almighty God, who is ever present to 
bless, to encourage, and to build. So they 
went forth upon their assignment with 
the humble assurance that they were 
not performing their duties alone. 
Seventeen thousand five hundred persons 
were witnesses of an outstanding per- 
formance, and I bear witness to you that 
our Father did hear and answer their 
prayer. 

I should like to give you in conclusion 
an experience that came to my attention 
two days after the passing of that great 
prophet of God, Elder Matthew Cowley. 
It was given to me by a man who some 
thirty-five or forty years before had been 
district president of Brother Cowley 
down in New Zealand as he labored 
with those Maori people. Fie had only 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



been out for two and one half months, 
and a district missionary conference was 
called. In one of those sessions, the 
morning session, Brother Cowley had 
an opportunity to speak. As the story 
has been related to me, he spoke for 
fifteen or twenty minutes in a fluent 
Maori tongue, so much so that it amazed 
the older Maori people in the congrega- 
tion. 

After the meeting, the district presi- 
dent and Brother Cowley were walking 
to a Maori home to partake of food be- 
tween the sessions, and the district 
president said, "How did you do it?" 
Brother Cowley asked, "Do what?" 
"How did you master this Maori lan- 
guage in such a short time?" A young 
missionary, seventeen years of age! 

Brother Cowley said, "When I came 
here I did not know one word of Maori, 
but I decided I was going to learn 
twenty new words each day, and I did. 
But when I came to put them together, 
I was not successful." By this time they 
were passing a cornfield, and Brother 
Cowley said, "You see that cornfield? I 
went out there, and I talked to the Lord, 
but before that, I fasted, and that night 
I tried again, but the words just didn't 
seem to jell. So the next day I fasted 
again, and I went out into that corn- 
field, and I talked to the Lord. Again, I 
tried that night with a little more- suc- 
cess. On the third day I fasted again, 
and I went out into the cornfield, and 
I talked to the Lord. I told the Lord 
that I believed his Church and king- 
dom had been established upon the 
earth; that men had the authority to 
proclaim the fulness of the gospel of 
Jesus Christ which pertained to the sal- 
vation and exaltation of our Heavenly 
Father's children. I told him that I 
had been called by this same authority 
to fill a mission, but if this was not 
the mission in which I was to serve to 
please make it known because I wanted 
to serve where I could accomplish the 
greatest amount of good." 

That was the spirit of Brother Cowley. 
He said, "The next morning, as we 
knelt in family prayer in that Maori 
home, I was called upon by the head 
of the household to be mouth. I tried 
to speak in English, and I could not. 
When I tried in Maori, the words just 
flowed forth, and I knew that God had 
answered my prayer and this was where 
I should serve." A young lad seventeen 
years of age! 

Brothers and sisters, friends of the 
radio and television audience, I bear 
witness to you in all humility and sin- 
cerity that God does today hear and 
answer prayer if we will put our hearts 
and our lives in tune with his Spirit 
and with his commandments. 

I humbly pray that we may continue 
to exercise and take advantage of this 
great invitation which the Lord has ex- 
tended, that we may humble ourselves 
in prayer, teach our children to pray, 
that they may have the strength and the 
light of Jesus Christ in their lives. I 
bear witness to you that these things 
are true, in the name of Jesus Christ, 
our Savior. Amen. 
JUNE 1955 



The 
First 
of the 
Seventy 




Levi Edgar Young 




Antoine R. Ivins 



Oscar A. Kirkham S. Dilworth Young 







Milton R. Hunter 



Bruce R. McConkie 



Marion D. Hanks 



The Gospel of 



GOOD WORKS 



by President Levi Edgar Young 

OF THE FIRST COUNCIL OF THE SEVENTY 



While I speak these few minutes, 
may I have the Spirit of the Lord 
to direct me. 
I rejoice with you in the great mes-. 
sages we have heard from our First 
Presidency on the important question 
of teaching and the proper training of 
our children. The first thing we should 
teach our children is respect for all 
human beings. All are children of God. 
Man is made in the image of God. Re- 
spect for all men leads to a love for law 
and order. In the home is taught 
obedience to the loving directions of our 



Father in heaven. Then comes self- 
discipline, self-direction. Whether we 
are teachers of the gospel or professional 
men, we can and should dedicate our- 
selves to help our children to develop 
their potentialities for good, for truth, 
for love, for beauty, and above all, 
reverence for God. 

Our young people must be educated 
to think clearly and deeply, and students 
of schools and universities should be 
taught that the famous authors and 
philosophers of the world have produced 
{Continued on following page) 

413 



Levi Edgar Young 



Continued 



writings which glorify God and the di- 
vinity of man. We are reminded of the 
words of Carl Schurz, when he said: 
"Ideals are like stars; you will not suc- 
ceed in touching them with your hands. 
But like a seafaring man on the desert 
of waters, you choose them as your 
guides, and following them, you will 
reach your destiny." 

We teach the gospel of good works. It 
is excellent; it is ennobling; but that 
is not all. Man owes to God and to his 
fellow men, not only his conduct, but 
also his thoughts, not only to do much, 
but also to think aright as to honor, 
integrity, and honesty. 

To understand the true value of the 
ideals of the American people when they 
think of their government of the United 
States, one must recall the character of 
the people who settled these shores in 
the seventeenth century. "They brought 
hither in their little ships, not money, 
not merchandise, no array of armed 
force, but they came freighted with re- 
ligion, learning, law, and the Spirit of 
God. They stepped forth upon the 
shore, and a wild and frowning wilder- 
ness received them." Strong in their 
faith in God, they began their combat 
with danger and hardship. Disease 
smote them, but they fainted not. At 
times they had nothing to eat but the 
roots of the plants they gathered. They 
first built houses for God and then for 
themselves. They established schools 
and developed a strong morality which 
was always their principal characteristic. 
They educated their children to a high 
faith in God. Villages began to smile; 
churches arose; industries multiplied; 
colleges were established; and every 
town had a democratic government for 
all to take part. The states that were 
formed grew into a nation with noble, 
fundamental ideas of government. And 
so came our own United States, 'the most 
democratic government in the history of 
the world. What a glorious history our 
early country had, for religious people 
went not only to New England, but we 
have also the Quakers and the Method- 
ists and other religious groups settling 
along the Atlantic Coast. 

For this reason and others, we believe 
that honest inquiry into any field of 
knowledge should be encouraged. But 
one should always have for a guiding 
thought his need for beauty, for good- 
ness, for love, and the communion with 
the divine. "To me," says Dr. Green of 
Yale University, "truth, beauty, good- 
ness, and Deity are ultimate objects of 
our search, as is nature for the scientist. 
I am profoundly impressed by the wit- 
ness of sincerely and intelligently re- 
ligious folk, the saints and prophets of 
the great religions, that man can en- 
counter Deity, and find in that Deity a 
source of understanding and comfort." 

In a General Epistle of the Council 
of the Twelve Apostles of the Church 
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is- 
sued December 23, 1847, at Winter 
Quarters and signed by President Brig- 
ham Young, we have these words: 

414 



The Kingdom of God consists in correct 
principles; and it mattereth not what a 
man's religious faith is; whether he be a 
Presbyterian, or a Methodist, or a Baptist, 
or a Latter-day Saint or "Mormon," or a 
Campbellite, or a Catholic, or an Episco- 
palian, or Mohometan, or even pagan, or 
anything else, if he will bow the knee, and 
with his tongue confess that Jesus is the 
Christ, and will support good and whole- 
some laws for the regulation of society, 
we hail him as a brother, and will stand by 
him while he stands by us in these things; 
for every man's religious faith is a matter 
between his own soul and his God alone. . . . 

We ask no pre-eminence; we want no 
pre-eminence; but where God has placed us, 
there we will stand; and that is, to be one 
with our brethren, and our brethren are 
those that keep the commandments of God, 
and do the will of our Father who is in 
heaven; and by them we will stand, and 
with them we will dwell in time and in 
eternity. (Journal History, Dec. 23, 1847.) 

How nobly did the Prophet Joseph 
Smith declare this ideal when he said: 

We claim the . privilege of worshiping 
Almighty God according to the dictates of 
our own conscience, and allow all men the 
same privilege, let them worship how, 
where, or what they may. (Eleventh Article 
of Faith.) 

It is to be remembered that there are 
men walking the earth and beckoning 
us to follow them to the future — not 
abreast of us, but ahead of us. Religion 
explains them as men blessed of heaven; 
men so spiritually endowed as to be 
able to respond to the inspiration of the 
infinite, which they know comes from 



God. They are good men, and wonder- 
ful is the vitality of goodness. Men 
are keeping faith and virtue and are 
working for the freedom and happiness 
of the human race. Their discipline is 
the loyalty of each man's heart to the 
voice of God. These men look for au- 
thority, for principles, for divine gov- 
ernment. They have noble thoughts, 
beautiful sentiments, worthy aspirations, 
courageous living for a true and happier 
life. They know that God has not 
separated himself from the world nor 
does he lightly regard anyone's need. 
There is a true light which "lighteth 
every man that cometh into the world" 
(John 1:9), a saying rich in promise. 
God reveals his principles of eternal 
life to good men who have discerning 
vision and deep faith. The world has 
always had such men; it has such men 
today. 

In all of our history there has been 
nothing in the way of persecution by 
the Latter-day Saints of other people, 
but we have been taught by the Proph- 
et Joseph Smith from the beginning, 
when God spoke to him, that all are 
children of God and that we should 
approach them with love and the testi- 
mony that God lives and that Jesus is 
the Christ, the Redeemer of the world. 

Someday, he will be found again 
among the thirsting people for whom 
he lived and died. As he came back 
after his death to confirm the faith of 
his disciples, and to comfort their deso- 
late hearts, so will he come again to 
establish his kingdom in the earth and 
usher in the reign of peace. May we 
be blessed with a love for mankind, I 
ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 



» ♦ ■ 



The Time Is Now 



by Carl TV. Buehner 

OF THE PRESIDING BISHOPRIC 



MY dear brethren and sisters, at this 
moment I am so nervous and ex- 
cited I don't know whether my 
sermon has been delivered yet or not. 
I have been deeply moved by the power- 
ful discourses given during the course 
of this conference. I am grateful to be 
one of you. I have all but been lifted 
out of this world and made to feel very 
close to the other side, not only because 
of the experience I am having at this 
moment, but also because of the won- 
derful things that have been said and 
the Spirit by which they have been 
spoken. 

Then I begin to feel that maybe we 
are not very far from the other side at 
any time, after all. Reference has been 
made to the spirits that come here every 
day to inhabit these little new bodies, 
these spirits, pure, sweet, innocent. They 
cannot speak to us. They cannot tell 
us of the great experience that they had 
in the sphere from which they just 



came, but every day they are coming 
here — messengers from the spirit world. 
Then they live here in this mortal life 
a few years, some a very short time, 
maybe a few hours, a few days, a few 
years, and for the best of us not too 
many years. 

Then we leave this life. People every 
day leave this life, returning again to 
the presence of our Heavenly Father. 
They can speak. They can report. They 
can tell of our faithfulness and of how 
the work is progressing here in this 
life. 

In the past few days I learned of a 
person whose remaining days in mor- 
tality have been measured out to him. 
They said he could only live one 
more week. Then I thought about 
others — those I have read about in the 
newspapers, some who, it has been 
said, could only live another month, or 
a few months, or some, perhaps a year. 
I began to wonder what I would do if 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



someone said to me, "Your days are 
measured. You will only live here one 
more week, or one more month," realiz- 
ing the great work there is to do and 
all that I might have done, all that 
I should have done, and now time is 
running out. What would I do? 

I think, brethren and sisters, possibly 
the first thing I would do is try to 
make peace with everyone that I have 
learned to know, and I would do some 
fast repenting, even though it might not 
be very effective. It would be better 
to be in a repentant mood all the time. 

I am sure time is measured for you, 
for me, and for all of us. Maybe not 
in so many days — perhaps we have not 
been told how many days we will yet 
live upon this earth, but we certainly 
know of the great work that we must 
do while we are still here. Someone 
wrote these few lines that I thought 
were rather interesting: 

Suppose you live to be seventy. How 
long is it? How many years of that span 
will really count? Allow for eight hours 
out of twenty-four in which you lie un- 
conscious, asleep in bed. Subtract your 
kid days and your old age. Deduct the 
days when sickness puts you out of the 
game, and seventy years is not very long 
after all, is it? But it is all the time you've 
got. What are you going to do with it? 
Life is time. Kill time and you commit 
suicide. Footprints in the sands of time 
are not made by sitting down. When the 
Great Referee calls time, have something 
worth while to show. 

I think our short life here in mortality 
is something like taking a journey. 
Many of you have taken a long journey 
to get here to conference, and you are 
going to take one to return to your 
homes. Many of us travel every week. 
We get road maps, we get books on 
travel, and we discover where we are 
going, but often as we travel down a 
highway, we come to an intersection 
that is not very well marked, and we 
do not know which way to turn. Often 
we get on a detour, and we travel an 
hour or .two hours or three hours or a 
hundred miles or two hundred miles 
before we discover we are lost. 

Then we have to turn around and 
come back. Have you ever discovered 
when you return to the point where 
you begin your detour that that time 
is lost? You cannot turn your watch 
back. You cannot turn time back. We 
have just lost two hours or four hours 
or two hundred miles of that journey, 
and it is gone forever. 

I think sometimes some of us travel- 
ing this mortal life of ours are doing 
some detouring. We are not coming to 
our meetings as faithfully as we should. 
We are not keeping the commandments • 
of our Heavenly Father all the way. We 
are not doing all the things that the 
Lord has asked us to do — we are de- 
touring, we are losing time, and that 
time can never be made up again. That 
time is lost. 

I have learned, too, that while there 
are many roads that come to Salt Lake 
City to bring you to general conference, 
according to the scriptures there are only 
two roads that we can travel as it per- 
JUNE 1955 



tains to our spiritual life. One is the 
broad road that leads to destruction and 
damnation — the other, the straight and 
narrow road that leads to life eternal. 

Often I feel when we detour we get 
off the straight and narrow path, and 
we lose time. We actually waste time. 
We do not do the thing that the Lord 
expects us to do to inherit the great 
blessings that he has in store for us. 
Therefore, I would suggest to every 
member of the Church, that while we 
cannot change the length of time we 
live in mortality, we can change what 
we do with the time we have at our 
disposal. Keep the commandments. Be 
loyal to the leadership of the Church. 
Help build up the kingdom of our 
Heavenly Father. Pay your tithes. Pay 
your offerings. 

Security comes from the paying of 
tithes! Everything we have belongs to 
the Lord. He said, "Return a tenth of 
your increase." For giving a tenth of 
it back he promises us great blessings — 
great blessings to return a tenth of what 
he has given us, and many have a diffi- 
cult time understanding its importance. 

Living in a world filled with evil and 
temptations, it is not always easy to do 
the things we know we should do. I 
wish to refer again to the spirits coming 
from the spirit world, inhabiting little 
mortal bodies to live a life under these 
conditions. I am particularly interested 
in one of these at this very moment, for 
I am expecting my thirteenth grand- 
child. It might be being born right at 
this moment. It might be this after- 
noon, and it might be in the days to 
follow. As I think of the journey this 
little spirit will travel in mortality, I 
think of the anxiety existing in the spirit 
world as they bid farewell to a spirit 
to come to this life. The mourning and 
sorrow and grief must be much greater 



than it is when one leaves this life re- 
turning to the other side. 

I hope, brethren and sisters, we will 
all have a desire to make our trip a 
round trip — from the presence of our 
Heavenly Father back again to the pres- 
ence of our Heavenly Father. I must 
not take longer. In closing, I would 
like to relate a story that I have told 
a number of times, which some of you 
have heard before, but it has a point 
to it worth consideration. 

It is about the golfer who went out 
on the golf course and placed his ball 
on a tee. He raised his club and drove 
the ball way down the fairway, and 
when he finally found it, it was in the 
center of a large anthill. He stepped 
up close to it, took another club out of 
his bag, and swung at the ball. He 
missed it and tore out about a third 
of the anthill. He stepped up a little 
closer. He raised his club and swung 
a second time. He missed the ball again 
and mutilated the anthill on the other 
side. By that time the remaining ants 
in the anthill became very much 
alarmed at what was happening to 
their homes, their relatives, their friends, 
and they called together their leaders 
very hurriedly for a solution. A mo- 
ment later the leaders made this report: 
"If you want to be saved, you had bet- 
ter get on the ball." 

Think it over, brethren and sisters. 
I think that would fit our lives in many 
ways. Think it over, and then conform 
your lives with the time that has been 
allotted to you. Stay on the straight 
and narrow pathway that leads us back 
again into the presence of our Heavenly 
Father to enjoy with him the great 
blessings of the righteous and the faith- 
ful. 

That this may come to each and every 
one of us I pray sincerely and humbly 
in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 



» ♦ » 



Message of the 
RESTORATION 



by Marion D. Hanks 

OF THE FIRST COUNCIL OF THE SEVENTY 



I should like to join briefly with 
Brother Petersen in commending and 
bearing my witness of faith in the 
young people of the Church in this day. 
Ten days ago I met with a great con- 
ference of servicemen -at the Lackland 
Air Force Base near San Antonio. It 
was a marvelous experience and one 
which I appreciated and was grateful 
for. Yesterday I met two of those fine 
young men in this conference; they had 
flown in from Lackland with some 
twenty-five others. Unfortunately the 
storm that prevented the delivery of 
our flowers for this conference also 



stopped their landing here. They had 
to go back to Denver and then on back 
to their base (except these two), since 
they had to be there this morning. They 
missed, the twenty-five, the blessing of 
being here, yet their faith in coming 
evidenced their courage, their devotion, 
and the great loyalty they and their 
generation have for the Church. 

I am grateful I am connected closely 
to them and with them in bonds of 
love and faith in God and the message 
of the great restoration. 

Notwithstanding the pressures of this 
(Continued on following page) 

415 



Marion D. Hanks continued 

experience, I sat yesterday afternoon al- 
most wishing I might be called in order 
that I might then bear timely testimony 
of appreciation to the two men who 
offered the prayers at that session. Since 
we last met in conference, I have had 
the wonderful blessing of touring two of 
the great missions of this Church which 
are presided over by those two men, 
President Peter J. Ricks and President 
Claudious Bowman. I should like to say 
of them and the many like them and 
the thousands who serve with them 
through the call of the Lord, that they 
are common and humble men in the 
very finest sense of those terms, but 
that they have uncommon faith and 
uncommon courage and uncommon dig- 
nity in the great work they do. As I 
thought of them I thought of some 
words of Thomas Carlyle. I went home 
and copied them last night: 

Two men I honor and no third. First, 
the toil-worn craftsman that with earth- 
made implement laboriously conquers the 
earth and makes her man's. A second man 
I honor and still more highly: him who is 
seen toiling for the spiritually indispensable, 
not daily bread, but the bread of life. 

These men and the thousands like 
them who preside over the wards and 
stakes, the branches, the districts, the 
missions of the Church, are men who 
know the task of "toil worn implement" 
using, but who know that more im- 
portant even than this significant Op- 
portunity in God's world, the right to 
work for one's bread, is tbe great bless- 
ing and responsibility of seeking that 
which is spiritually indispensable, and 
which is the most important thing a 
man can seek. 

I honor these men, and I feel very 
humble as I travel in their presence and 
bear witness with them of the truths 
God has given us to know. 

I read recently out of a newspaper a 
few words I should like to call to your 
attention as an example of another great 
idea these men call my attention to. 
Dateline, New York City, last August?, 
from a press service, these words, writ- 
ten by three ministers of Christian 
denominations: 

The true ministry of the layman is being 
rediscovered. He is now coming back to the 
function he exercised in the early church. 
There is today in the church a great re- 
surgence of Christian interest on the part 
of the laity. In ancient times, in the 
days of Christ, there was not the marked 
distinction between the laity and clergy. 
Laity as used in the New Testament simply 
meant the people of God, but through the 
centuries more and more of the work of 
the church fell on the shoulders of those 
who made it their full time profession. 
The liturgical movement in both Catholi- 
cism and Protestantism is winning back for 
the laity their ancient rights in the Church's 
worship life. The layman in his secular 
work is increasingly seeing his vocation as 
that of the Church's chief evangelist. He 
is the church in the world. 

This is a truth spoken by men of good 
will and courage and devotion, but 

416 



which has been available to the knowl- 
edge of these and other men since the 
days of the Prophet of God who died 
in the year 1844 at the hands of intol- 
erent neighbors. The teaching, preach- 
ing, leadership of the Churcb should 
be done in Christ's Church today as it 
was done in his day — by the humble 
members of the Church, laymen hold- 
ing the priesthood and authority of God. 
These and other truths are here avail- 
able to men, and the world is begin- 
ning to learn some of them. 

Last week-end, a counselor in one of 
the great stakes I had the privilege of 
visiting called attention to certain recent 
articles dealing with the way a chapel 
ought to be built, saying that in our 
day churches are coming to the conclu- 
sion that chapels ought to be built with 
classrooms attached and with recrea- 
tional facilities. 

I say to these good and honest people 
that from the beginning of the restora- 
tion of the gospel of the Lord, it has 
been known that the gospel was meant 
to take care of the full life of man; 
and whenever they find a Latter-day 
Saint chapel fully completed and dedi- 
cated, they will invariably find that 
there are in it classrooms and recrea- 
tional facilities designed to provide for 
development in all the aspects of the 
lives of its members — physical, social, 
intellectual, cultural, as well as spirit- 
ual. 

There is time for but one other 
thought. I read recently in one of our 
great national magazines a few words 
I thought to be highly significant about 
our relationship with our Father in 
heaven. This came from one of the 
great religious leaders of our day, a 



man whom I have revered and whose 
works I have read since I was a boy. 

Says he: 

Vital religion cannot be maintained and 
preserved on the theory that God dealt with 
our human race only in the far past ages, 
and that the Bible is the only evidence we 
have that our God is a living, revealing, 
communicating God. If God ever spoke, he 
is still speaking. He is the great I Am, 
not the great He Was. 

This truth, so majestic and magnifi- 
cent and basically important, is a truth 
which has been available anew to man- 
kind since 1820, when a humble, simple 
boy had enough humility and enough 
real love of truth to seek from his 
Father in heaven a manifestation of 
those things he needed to know, to 
find his place, his purpose, and his con- 
structive work in life. 

The answer is that God does live, 
that the Savior is the great I Am; 
he has always been, he shall always be. 
God's truths are revealed to men when 
they will pay the price of seeking ear- 
nestly, and finding, being willing to ac- 
cept, and accepting, then dedicating 
themselves consistently and loyally to 
him and to his cause. 

I am grateful that I have been, by the 
providence of God, brought into an age 
and into a Church where the truths are 
known of which I am able to bear 
witness today: That God does live, that 
he does reveal his truths, that this is 
the Church of Jesus Christ on the 
earth, that we may through obedience 
to his word find peace, here and now, 
enjoy eternal opportunity commensu- 
rate with our preparation for it, and 
arrive at a reunion with him who made 
us and who is our Father which art 
in heaven. Of this I testify in the 
name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 



The Strap Gate— 

Repentance and baptism 



by Delbert L. Stapley 

OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 



Bishop Buehner, commenting upon 
the limited time allotted us in life, 
and the fact that many detour and 
get lost and thus fail to find the narrow 
way that leads to life eternal, brings me 
to the theme that I should like to discuss 
with you this morning. 

Among the many choice teachings 
given by ■ the Savior in that inspiring 
Sermon on the Mount, is this important 
instruction: 

Enter ye in at the strait gate . . . 

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is 
the way, which leadeth unto life, and few 
there be that find it. (Matthew 7:13-14.) 

You will observe that I have quoted 



only the positive elements of this scrip- 
ture. To enter the straight gate implies 
obedience to gospel requirements, and 
the narrow way that leads to life con- 
notes additional requirements, rites, and 
. ordinances for all who desire salvation 
and exaltation. Like so many teachings 
of our Lord, the interpretation, explana- 
tion, and procedures were left for his 
chosen prophets by inspiration and 
revelation, when the time was ready, to 
unfold to man's knowledge. It is true of 
this scripture. 

I should like to ask, "What is the 

straight gate spoken of by the Savior by 

which we should enter?" Nephi, in the 

closing days of his ministry, gave a great 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



discourse to his people embodying much 
in the way of prophesying, and in it 
furnishes the most direct and compre- 
hensive answer to this question by say- 
ing: 

For the gate by which ye should enter is 
repentance and baptism by water; and then 
cometh a remission of your sins by fire and 
by the Holy Ghost. (2 Nephi 31:17.) 

Nephi also said to his people: 
"Wherefore, do the things which I have 
told you I have seen that your Lord 
and your Redeemer should do; for, for 
this cause have they been shown unto 
me, that ye might know the gate by 
which ye should enter." (Idem.) 

Nephi, in vision, almost six centuries 
before the coming of our Lord and 
Savior, Jesus Christ, in the flesh, wit- 
nessed his baptism at the hands of John 
the Baptist, even as we have it recorded 
in the third chapter of Matthew, when 
our worthy Lord came to John and asked 
to be baptized of him. But John, hum- 
ble as he was, realizing that this was 
his Lord, objected by saying, 

I have need to be baptized of thee, and 
comest thou to me? 

And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer 
it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to 
fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered 
him. 

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up 
straightway out of the water: and, lo, the 
heavens were opened unto him, and he 
saw the Spirit of God descending like a 
dove, and lighting upon him: 

And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This 
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
pleased. (Matthew 3:14-17.) 

In this scripture we see the plan and 
the way to enter this straight gate, even 
baptism by water and receiving the gift 
of the Holy Ghost; the Savior saying to 
John by way of emphasis, "for thus it 
becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." 

Now what did the Savior mean by 
making this statement? Again we turn 
to the writings of Nephi and read: 

And now, if the Lamb of God, he being 
holy, should have need to be baptized by 
water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, 
how much more need have we, being un- 
holy, to be baptized, yea, even by water! 

And now, I would ask of you, my beloved 
brethren, wherein the Lamb of God did ful- 
fil all righteousness in being baptized by 
water? 

Know ye not that he was holy? But not- 
withstanding he being holy, he showeth un- 
to the children of men that, according to 
the flesh he humbleth himself before the 
Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that 
he would be obedient unto him in keeping 
his commandments. 

Wherefore, after he was baptized with 
water the Holy Ghost descended upon him 
in the form of a dove. 

And again, it showeth unto the children 
of men the straightness of the path, and the 
narrowness of the gate, by which they should 
enter, he having set the example before 
them. 

And he said unto the children of men: 
Follow thou me. (2 Nephi 31:5-10.) 

Here we see the straightness of the 
gate by which the Son of God entered 
our Heavenly Father's kingdom and the 
JUNE 1955 



reason for his doing so, which sets the 
example and pattern for all mankind 
to follow, for said he, "Follow thou me 
and do the things which ye have seen 
me do." 

Now, my brothers and sisters, let us 
consider what the narrowness of the 
way signifies. After explaining what is 
required to enter the straight gate, Nephi 
continues by saying: 

And then are ye in this straight and 
narrow path which leads to eternal life; 
yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye 
have done according to the commandments 
of the Father and the Son; and ye have 
received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses 
of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling 
of the promise which he hath made, that 
if ye entered in by the way ye should 
receive. 

And now, my beloved brethren, after ye 
have gotten into this straight and narrow 
path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, 
I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come 
thus far save it were by the word of Christ 
with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly 
upon the merits of him who is mighty to 
save. 

Wherefore, ye must press forward with a 
steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect 
brightness of hope, and a love of God and 
of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press 
forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, 
and endure to the end, behold, thus saith 
the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. 

And now, behold, my beloved brethren, 
this is the way; and there is none other 
way nor name given under heaven where- 
by man can be saved in the kingdom of 
God. And now, behold, this is the doc- 
trine of Christ, and the only true doctrine of 
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost, which is one God, without end. 
(Ibid., 31:18-21.) 

My brothers and sisters, we see from 
this that the function of the Holy Ghost 
to those who have received its bestowal 
is to guide in the narrow way to an 
understanding of what is required for 
eternal life and glory. Men, through 
faithfulness, must become worthy for 
ordination to the Holy Melchizedek 
Priesthood, that priesthood after the 
order of the Son of God, which ordina- 
tion and priesthood makes possible re- 
ceiving the spiritual blessings of God's 
kingdom, for it is in the gospel ordi- 
nances officiated in by the authority of 
the Holy Priesthood that the powers of 
godliness are manifest unto men in the 
flesh. In this dispensation God has 
restored the keys, powers, and authorities 
to officiate in all the sacred ordinances 
with the right to seal and bind for time 
and all eternity both the living and the 
dead. 

For the sacred purpose of obtaining 
the higher gospel ordinances and bless- 
ings, God has commanded that temples 
should be built wherein his people can 
receive their endowments and sealings, 
to prepare them for celestial glory. 
Worthy women, as worthy men, enjoy 
the privileges of temple ordinances and 
blessings, receiving them by the au- 
thority of the Holy Melchizedek Priest- 
hood. Both make covenants with God, 
and both accept obligations and re- 
sponsibility; also pledge faithfulness and 
obedience to God. 

When the cornerstone of the great 



Salt Lake Temple was laid, Brigham 
Young, in a discourse to the people as- 
sembled for that important occasion, 
said that very few of the elders in 
Israel understood the endowment, and 
for them to understand they must ex- 
perience, and for them to experience, a 
temple must be built. Then he sum- 
marized the endowment in these words: 

Your endowment is to receive all those 
ordinances in the House of the Lord which 
are necessary for you after you depart this 
life, to enable you to walk back to the 
presence of the Father, passing the angels 
who stand as sentinels, being enabled to 
give them the key word, the signs and the 
tokens pertaining to the Holy Priesthood, 
and gain you eternal exaltation in spite of 
earth or hell. 

How sublime, comprehensive, signifi- 
cant, and important the endowment be- 
comes when we understand it. When 
one has been endowed according to the 
order of temple rights and ordinances, 
then he or she is prepared for eternal 
sealing of husband to wife, wife to hus- 
band, and children to both, by men au- 
thorized and possessing the keys of this 
sealing power. Families thus united 
may go on to perfection, exaltation, and 
eternal happiness together. 

We learn this from the writings of 
the Prophet Joseph Smith, found in 
both the 131st and 132nd sections of 
the Doctrine and Covenants. The Lord, 
speaking to the Prophet, said, 

In the celestial glory there are three 
heavens, or degrees; 

And in order to obtain the highest a man 
must enter into this order of the priesthood, 
[meaning the new and the everlasting cove- 
nant of marriage]; 

And if he does not he cannot obtain it. 

He may enter into the others, but that 
is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have 
an increase. (D. & C. 131:1-4.) 

Those who do not enter this order of 
the priesthood, that is, the eternal cove- 
nant of marriage, become angels of God 
in a separate and single state forever 
and ever, and thus are without increase 
of posterity in the eternal world; there- 
fore without posterity they have no need 
of a kingdom. That is verified in the 
writings of the Prophet Joseph in the 
132nd section of the Doctrine and Cove- 
nants which I quote: 

Therefore, if a man marry him a wife 
in the world, and he marry her not by me 
nor by my word, and he covenant with her 
so long as he is in the world and she with 
him, their covenant and marriage are not 
of force when they are dead, and when they 
are out of the world; therefore, they are 
not bound by any law when they are out 
of the world. 

Therefore, when they are out of the 
world they neither marry nor are given 
in marriage; but are appointed angels in 
heaven; which angels are ministering serv- 
ants, to minister for those who are worthy 
of a far more, and an exceeding, and an 
eternal weight of glory. 

For these angels did not abide my law; 
therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but re- 
main separately and singly, without ex- 
altation, in their saved condition, to all 
eternity; and from henceforth are not gods, 

(Continued on following page) 

417 



Delbert L Stapley 



Continued 



but are angels of God forever and ever. 
(Ibid., 132:15-17.) 

Now, important as it might be to be 
appointed a ministering angel of God, 
certainly far more happiness would come 
to an individual to have at his side a 
loving companion, children, posterity — 
throughout the eternity, and unless we 
enter into this holy covenant of mar- 
riage and have it sealed by the Holy 
Spirit of promise, these blessings cannot 
be obtained by us. 

Referring again to this same section, 
the Lord said to the Prophet Joseph: 

And again, verily I say unto you, if a 
man marry a wife by my word, which is 
my law, and by the new and everlasting 
covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the 
Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is 
anointed, unto whom I have appointed this 
power and the keys of this priesthood; [and 
then certain conditions are enumerated] ; 
... it shall be done unto them in all things 
whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, 
in time, and through all eternity; and shall 
be of full force when they are out of the 
world; and they shall pass by the angels, 
and the gods, which are set there, to their 
exaltation and glory in all things, as hath 
been sealed upon their heads, which glory 
shall be a fulness and a continuation of 
the seeds forever and ever. 

Then shall they be gods, because they 
have no end; therefore shall they be from 
everlasting to everlasting, because they con- 
tinue; then shall they be above all, because 
all things are subject unto them. Then shall 
they be gods, because they have all power, 
and the angels are subject unto them. 

Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye 
abide my law ye cannot attain to this 
glory. 

And now mark you, 

For strait is the gate, and narrow the 
way that leadeth unto the exaltation and 
continuation of the lives, and few there be 
that find it, because ye receive me not in 
the world neither do ye know me. 

But if ye receive me in the world, then 
shall ye know me, and shall receive your 
exaltation; that where I am ye shall be also. 

This is eternal lives — to know the only 
wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom 
he hath sent. (Ibid., 132:19-24.) 

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, 
these conditions then meet the require- 
ments for the narrowness of the way. 
It involves receiving the temple ordi- 
nances and sealings, keeping all the 
commandments of God, remaining faith- 
ful and devoted to the end of mortal 
life, which then earns the great gift of 
eternal life. 

Nephi, Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, 
true servants and prophets of God, by 
inspiration and revelation have inter- 
preted and explained the significance 
of this important statement of the 
Savior. All who have repented and 
then been baptized and received the 
Holy Ghost by authorized servants of 
God have entered in by the straight 
gate. The narrow way can only be 
followed by obedience and faithfulness 
to all the sacred ordinances and re- 
quirements of the higher gospel plan, 
obtained in the holy temples of God. 

418 



This is the true doctrine of Christ. 
This is the order and law of the Holy 
Priesthood. There is no other plan nor 
way to obtain eternal lives, and a con- 
tinuation of posterity. God again said 
to the Prophet: 

For all who will have a blessing at my 
hands shall abide the law which was ap- 



pointed for that blessing, and the conditions 
thereof, as were instituted from before the 
foundation of the world. (Ibid., 132:5.) 

Let us understand these things, my 
brothers and sisters, and if we have not 
taken care of the conditions that lead 
into the narrow way and that take us 
to eternal life, let us submit to the re- 
quirements of these great principles and 
ordinances and teach all others to do 
likewise, I humbly pray in the name of 
Jesus Christ. Amen. 



Monday Afternoon Session, April 4, 1955 

Our Twofold Mission 



by Henry D. Moyle 

OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 



Two years ago Elder LeGrand Rich- 
ards was addressing a convention in 
this city of men of various faiths 
and denominations, and he began his 
remarks by calling them all to repent- 
ance. I had the opportunity recently 
of meeting that same group and to 
realize the tremendous impact that that 
statement made upon them by one who 
spoke with authority. 

And we have seen and do testify that the 
Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of 
the world. 

Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the 
Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he 
in God. (I John 4:14-15.) 

Our mission in this Church is twofold. 
We must call all people to repentance, 
and to those who hearken unto our 
words teach the principles of the gospel 
of Jesus Christ. 

Repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is 
at hand. 
Repent and believe the gospel. 

Christ said he came to call sinners 
to repentance and to save them. 

Repentance grows out of faith in God. 
No matter how good we are, we have 
all sinned and have fallen short of the 
glory of God. As Alma of old said: 

We must come forth and stand before 
him in his glory, and in his power, and in 
his might, majesty, and dominion, and ac- 
knowledge to our everlasting shame that all 
his judgments are just; that he is just in 
all his works, and that he is merciful unto 
the children of men, and that he has all 
power to save every man that believeth on 
his name and bringeth forth fruit meet for 
repentance. (Alma 12:15.) 

I am sure we all need to pray, "O 
God, have mercy on me a sinner." 

Nothing is so much calculated to lead 
people to forsake sin as to take them by 
the hand and watch over them with tender- 
ness. 



So long as there is sin among men, 
repentance is as essential in one age of 
the world as in another. Joseph Smith 
said: "God does not look upon sin with 
allowance, but when men sin there must 
be allowance made for them." (See D. & 
C. 1:32-33.) We read: 

For God so loved the world, that he gave 
his only begotten Son, that whosoever be- 
lieveth in him should not perish, but have 
everlasting life. 

For God sent not his Son into the world 
to condemn the world; but that the world 
through him might be saved. (John 3:16-17.) 

We have a great example of the fruits 
of repentance when w 7 e go back to the 
Day of Pentecost, when the Apostles of 
old bore this testimony to the multitude, 
and they each heard it in their own 
tongue: 

Therefore let all the house of Israel know 
assuredly, that God hath made that same 
Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord 
and Christ. (Acts 2:36.) 

This testimony of the Apostles pro- 
voked the inquiry, "Men and brethren, 
what shall we do?" (Ibid., 2:37.) 

And then Peter gave the most won- 
derfully inspired reply: 

Repent, and be baptized every one of you 
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remis- 
sion of sins, and ye shall receive the gift 
of the Holy Ghost. (Ibid., 2:38.) 

that greatest of all promises which 
God has made to man. 

It was the same with Paul, on the 
road to Damascus, when he questioned 
the Lord, "Who art thou, Lord? And the 
Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou perse- 
cutest." (Ibid., 9:5.) And then Paul 
asked the Savior, "Lord what wilt thou 
have me to do?" (Ibid., 9:6.) 

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Re- 
sist the devil, and he will flee from you. 
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sin- 
ners; and purify your hearts, ye double 
minded. 

Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let 
your laughter be turned to mourning, and 
your joy to heaviness. 

Humble yourselves in the sight of the 
Lord, and he shall lift you up. (James 
4:7-10.) 

What business has any citizen of the 
kingdom to talk of a certain standard 
which is meant for him and not for all 
the subjects of the kingdom? What is 
it but adopting the maxim which the 
Roman poet unfairly ascribed to a Greek 
hero, "that laws were not born for him?" 
I tell you that his laws were born for 
all the children of our Heavenly Father 
upon the face of the earth. "And why 
call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the 
things which I say?" (Luke 6:46.) 

Repentance is a thing that cannot be 
trifled with every day of our lives. Daily 
transgressions, daily repentance are not 
pleasing in the sight of the Lord. We 
know as Latter-day Saints that in our 
lives, just as we have heard this beauti- 
ful chorus-choir sing, it is even now the 
eventide of the day in which we might 
properly repent. 

Do not procrastinate repentance. 
Deathbed repentance does not fulfil the 
law — man should repent and serve the 
Lord in health and in strength, in vigor 
of body and mind, and give of his life, 
such as may remain, when that faith in 
God, which creates the spirit of repent- 
ance within us, is received by him. 

If we submit to his Spirit, we may 
bring forth now the fruits of good works 
which are to his glory. We may look 
for the day when every law of the king- 
dom shall be fulfilled and when all 
shall know him from the least to the 
greatest. 

And churches, in the sense of their 
own nothingness, may seek after the 
foundation which God has laid and 
which will endure the shock of all winds 
and waves. And churches which rest 
upon their own decrees and traditions 
and holiness will be like the man who 

. . . without a foundation built an house 
upon the earth; against which the streams 
did beat vehemently, and immediately it 
fell; and the ruin of that house was great. 
(Ibid., 6:49.) 

The Church accepts the sinners into 
its society, not to foster them in their 
wickedness, but if they repent, to sancti- 
fy and cleanse them, by our kindness, 
from all unrighteousness. 

Of what do we repent? Does re- 
pentance follow the violation of an arbi- 
trary law imposed upon us by a power 
from on high? Why did the Lord ask 
Job, "Where wast thou when I laid the 
foundations of the earth? declare, if thou 
hast understanding." How significant 
the following questions: 

Who hath laid the measures thereof, if 
thou knowest? or who hath stretched the 
line upon it? 

Whereupon are the foundations thereof 
fastened? or who laid the cornerstone there- 
of. (Job 38:4-6.) 

Would the Lord have asked these 
questions of Job had Job not had a pre- 
JUNE 1955 



existence, had there not been a plan of 
life and of salvation developed before 
the foundations of the earth were laid? 
And then we read that at that very time 
of which these questions relate, that 
"the morning stars sang together and all 
of the sons of God shouted for joy." 
(Job 38:7.) Job participated in that 
singing and so did we. 

Joseph Smith, the Prophet, leaves us 
no doubt on that subject. He says: 

At the first organization in heaven we were 
all present and saw the Savior chosen and 
appointed and the plan of salvation made, 
and we sanctioned it. (Teachings of the 
Prophet Joseph Smith, page 181.) 

Repentance, therefore, follows the 
violation of a law to which we ascribed 
of our own free will and choice; a law 
we covenanted in the heavens to obey; 
a law which through our acceptance 
gave us the privilege of coming here 
into mortality and working out our 
mortal existence that we might thereby 
progress to the higher spheres which 
await us. There was no reluctance in 
our acquiescence of this plan. We sang 
together as the sons of God; all of them 
shouted for joy. 

No other proof should be needed, but 
if other proof were needed, we find it 
within ourselves. The power we possess 
to differentiate between right and wrong, 
good and evil, the Spirit of God within 
us with which we were born, our own 
free agency, all establish within our- 
selves, without any external evidence of 
any kind, the fact that we are under 
covenant to do that which is right; that 
which does not violate our own sensi- 
tive conscience. 

It has been said by the Apostle Paul: 

... we have had fathers of our flesh 
which corrected us, and we gave them 
reverence: shall we not much rather be in 
subjection unto the Father of spirits, and 
live? (Heb. 12:9.) 

Whatever we choose to do is volun- 
tary, just as was the redeeming sacrifice 
of the Savior of mankind. 

It is told of Lord Byron that when he 
was a lad attending a school, a com- 
panion of his fell under the displeasure 
of an overbearing bully, who unmerci- 
fully beat him. Byron happened to be 
present, and he went up to this bully, 
knowing that there was no use for him 
to attempt to fight him, and asked how 
long he intended to beat his friend. The 
bully .immediately answered and said, 
"Well, what business is that of yours?" 
Byron replied very mildly, with tears 
standing in his eyes, "I will take the rest 
of the beating, if you will let him go." 

Ours is a stronger case than that of 
Lord Byron's. He was under no prior 
commitment to do as he did. We are 
charged with the responsibility of doing 
as we have heretofore agreed. Re- 
pentance becomes our second chance to 
accomplish the purpose of our creation. 
As we repent, we are forgiven. Maybe 
Paul had this same thought in mind 
when he said: 

What? know ye not that your body is the 
temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, 
which ye have of God, and ye are not your 
own? 



For ye are bought with a price: therefore 
glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, 
which are God's. (I Cor. 6:19-20.) 

The Savior fulfilled all of his commit- 
ments. 

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, 
we are of all men most miserable. 

But now is Christ risen from the dead, 
and become the firstfruits of them that 
slept. 

For since by man came death, by man 
came also the resurrection of the dead. 

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ 
shall all be made alive. (I Cor. 15:19-22.) 

Christ fulfilled the great mission for 
which he came to this earth: to atone for 
the sins of mankind and to make the 
principle of repentance efficacious in our 
eternal progress. 

The Nephi version is as follows: 

But behold, all things have been done in 
the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. 

Adam fell that men might be; and men 
are, that they might have joy. 

And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of 
time, that he may redeem the children of 
men from the fall. And because that they 
are redeemed from the fall they have be- 
come free forever, knowing good from evil; 
to act for themselves and not to be acted 
upon, save it be by the punishment of the 
law at the great and last day, according to 
the commandments which God hath given. 
(2 Nephi 2:24-26.) 

Therefore we believe in preaching the 
doctrine of repentance in all the world, both 
to old and young, rich and poor, bond and 
free. . . . But we discover, in order to be 
benefited by the doctrine of repentance, we 
must believe in obtaining the remission of 
sins and in order to obtain the remission 
of our sins, we must believe in the doctrine 
of baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. And if we believe in baptism for 
the remission of sins, we may expect a ful- 
fillment of the promise of the Holy Ghost, 
for the promise extends to all whom the 
Lord our God shall call, says the Prophet 
Joseph Smith. (Teachings of the Prophet 
Joseph Smith, page 82.) 

The Savior finally said: 

Come unto me, all ye that labour and 
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of 
me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and 
ye shall find rest unto your souls. 

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is 
light. (Matt. 11:28-30.) 

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the 
•ends of the earth: for I am God, and there 
is none else. (Isaiah 45:22.) 

And finally, Isaiah writes: 

I have sworn by myself, the word is gone 
out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall 
not return, That unto me every knee shall 
bow, every tongue shall swear. 

Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I 
righteousness and strength, even to him 
shall men come; and all that are incensed 
against him shall be ashamed. (Ibid., 
45:23-24.) 

Let us not put off the day of our re- 
pentance. May the Lord help us to be 
pure and humble in his sight, I pray 
humbly, in the name of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Amen. 

419 



Assistants 
to the 

Council of the 
Twelve 




Thomas E. McKay 




Clifford E. Young 



Alma Sonne 



El Ray L. Christiansen 




John Longden 



Hugh B. Brown 



Sterling W. Sill 



The Good We Accomplish 



by Clifford E. Young 

ASSISTANT TO THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 



During the last three months it has 
been my privilege to visit two of 
the missions of the Church, and I 
have been impressed with an important 
phase of the work in which we are en- 
gaged, the missionary work of the 
Church. 

You will recall that the Savior on 
calling his Apostles said to them: 

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen 
you, and ordained you, that ye should go 
and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit 
should remain. (John 15:16.) 

420 



There has been no change in that, 
my brethren and sisters. "Ye have not 
chosen me, but I have chosen you, and 
ordained you, that ye should go . . . 
forth." There is no change in this 
truth. 

I read these lines the other night by 
a poet: 

. . . why abandon a belief 
Merely because it ceases to be true? 
Cling to it long enough, and not a doubt 
It will turn true again, for so it goes. 
Most of the change we think we see in life 
Is due to truths being in and out of favor. 



And so I say, fundamentally there 
has been no change in the teaching of 
the Savior to his disciples. As he met 
with them in Galilee after his resur- 
rection, he said: 

All power is given unto me in heaven 
and in earth. 

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, 
baptizing them in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 

Teaching them to observe all things what- 
soever I have commanded you: and, lo, I 
am with you alway, even unto the end of 
the world. (Matt. 28:18-20.) 

There has been no change in that. 
It may have been in and out of favor, 
but fundamentally there has been no 
change. All power was given him, and 
he conferred it on his disciples; the same 
power is with us today. 

Brother Moyle referred to the teach- 
ings of Peter on the Day of Pentecost, 
and I quote only part of it: 

Repent, and be baptized every one of you 
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remis- 
sion of sins. . . . (Acts 2:38.) 

These people were pricked in their 
hearts, and they wondered what they 
should do, and they cried with one ac- 
cord, "Men and brethren, what shall 
we do?" (Ibid., v. 37.) They had been 
taught the divine mission of Jesus Christ, 
Jesus and him crucified; and the Holy 
Ghost rested upon them; the gift of 
tongues was with them; they under- 
stood each other and they understood 
the Apostle Peter, although there were 
assembled peoples of many nations, and 
Peter said to them, 

Repent, and be baptized every one of you 
... for the remission of [your] sins. . . . 

Then he went on to say, "For the 
promise is unto you." The promise of 
what? That the Holy Ghost would 
come to them if they rendered obediencel 

For the promise is unto you, and to your 
children, and to all that are afar off, even 
as many as the Lord our God shall ca 11 . 
(Ibid., v. 39.) 

There has been no change in that, 
my brethren and sisters. And in this 
day the instructions are the same. 

Send forth the elders of my church unto 
the nations which are afar off; unto the 
islands of the sea; send forth unto foreign 
lands; call upon all nations, first upon the 
Gentiles, and then upon the Jews. (D. & C 
133:8.) 

The same teachings, a truth that may 
have been in and out of favor, but an 
eternal truth, just the same. So today we 
have in the Church the responsibility, 
and that responsibility is made more ap- 
parent as we think of the great mis- 
sionary system of the Church — we have 
the responsibility of preaching the gos- 
pel, and an added obligation to that 
which was given the disciples of the 
Savior, that of preaching the restored 
gospel, the same gospel but reaffirmed 
in this day, because in the minds of 
men it was for a time in and out of 
favor, but the truth has not changed; 
it is eternal. 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



Now, in harmony with that, in the 
very beginning of this work, the Prophet 
Joseph called missionaries who were 
sent to various parts of the United 
States and then later to Great Britain 
and other countries. The record of their 
work and conversions is impressive and 
ever will be an inspiration to those who 
read of it and who are engaged in 
preaching the gospel. 

Then there was a lull for a time; the 
Saints came west; and missionary work 
was seemingly at a standstill, but not 
for long. Within two years or less after 
the Saints had settled in these valleys, 
Elder John Taylor was sent to England 
as a missionary and then to France. In 
addition to the commission to preach 
the gospel, he was given the mission of 
seeking out some industry that could 
be brought to this country and estab- 
lished among our people in the west 
that would help them economically. It 
was through the efforts of Brother Tay- 
lor that the sugar industry was finally 
brought here to the West. That is a 
story of itself. 

But incident to this work that Brother 
Taylor performed, he baptized some very 
important people. You know, we are 
a little inclined to think that our efforts 
are seemingly of no avail. Perhaps 
some of our missionaries feel that way. 
I know I came home from my mission 
feeling that I had not accomplished 
much, that perhaps I had only baptized 
one or two. We never know the extent 
of the good we have done. 

In the labors of Brother Taylor he 
found men like Elias Morris, the father 
of Elder George Q. Morris who sits 
here on the stand, and President John 
R. Winder. He probably little realized 
what it would mean to the work of the 
Lord to bring men into the Church of 
the stature of Elias Morris, John R. 
Winder, and others. 

I was visiting a stake in California 
not long ago, and the wife of one of 
the presidents of the stakes told me this 
story. She labored under President. 
Callis in the Southern States Mission, 
and she said Brother Callis related this 
incident to them as he visited the stake 
after he had been called to the Coun- 
cil of the Twelve. Brother Callis was 
converted over in Wales and was bap- 
tized as a small boy into the Church. 
As he was visiting a stake of Zion, he 
learned that an old man whom he had 
known in the mission field was ill. 
Brother Callis called on him. He found 
him cynical. Brother Callis tried to 
encourage him. The man seemed to be 
beyond encouragement. Then Brother 
Callis said, "John, do you not remem- 
ber your missionary labors in Wales? 
Do you not remember the good you did 
in the mission field?" "Oh, I didn't do 
any good," he said. "Didn't you ever 
baptize anyone?" "No, not that I re- 
member." Brother Callis said, "Are you 
sure?" "Oh," he said, "I baptized a lit- 
tle urchin that used to bother us in our 
meetings." Then Brother Callis said, 
"Brother John, do you know that I was 
that little urchin?" 

Think of the importance of that one 
baptism! Think of the great work of 
Brother Callis during his thirty years 
JUNE 1955 



of service in the Southern States Mis- 
sion and then his great work as one of 
the Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

I repeat again, my brethren and sis- 
ters, we never know the results of our 
work. We never know what we ac- 
complish. Some of us never will live 
to see it, to sense it. But after all is said 
and done, we may sow, and we may 
water, but God gives the increase and 
that increase mounts little by little like 
a little stone cut out of the mountain 
without hands, and it rolls forth and 
ultimately will fill the earth. 

Now, the other thought, and then my 
time is up. It was my privilege to be 
down in Honolulu at the time President 
McKay and Sister McKay and Brother 
Murdock were there, one of the out- 
standing experiences of my life. As we 
met in meetings in Honolulu, in the 
Oahu Stake conference, Sunday, we had 
three assemblies. At one of them we 
had nearly four thousand people present. 
All nations, all people of the Polynesian 
Islands were represented: Hawaiians, 
Samoans, Maoris, Tahitians. We had a 
Samoan choir of a hundred people sing, 
beautifully, on Sunday morning and 
then Sunday afternoon an Hawaiian 
choir. I have never heard more im- 
pressive music. 

In that assembly were Chinese, Japa- 
nese, Filipinos, and I repeat again, peo- 
ple from all nations.' 

Brethren and sisters, as I looked over 
that assembly I thought, here is an ex- 
ample of the gospel being preached to 



all nations. The gospel of the Lord 
Jesus Christ is ultimately to leaven the 
lump. The Lord promised that an angel 
should fly through the midst of heaven, 
preaching the everlasting gospel to every 
nation that dwells upon the earth, and 
then he said the end should come. He 
did not mean the end of peoples, he 
meant the end of wickedness, the end 
of unrighteousness. And I thought I 
saw reflected in that assembly the pur- 
poses of the Almighty being accom- 
plished — no hatred, no animosities, no 
class prejudices, no racial hatreds, but 
all assembled under one great banner, 
of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ 
and dedicated to one holy purpose! 

As you think of that with me, can 
you not see how ultimately peace will 
come to the world? And it will only 
come through the gospel of the Son of 
God, his great message of eternal truth, 
and it is our responsibility, my brethren 
and sisters, to proclaim it. 

As one visits the missions of the 
Church, he becomes impressed more 
than ever with the need of our fulfilling 
the purposes for -which the Lord has 
placed us here, bearing witness of the 
gospel as it has been restored in this 
day, not preaching anything new, not 
changes, merely changes because men 
perchance have changed in their own 
minds, but the eternal truths being the 
same. 

May God help us to fulfil our obliga- 
tion in this great work, I pray in the 
name of Jesus. Amen. 



What Is SPIRITUALITY? 



by An tome R. Ivins 

OF THE FIRST COUNCIL OF THE SEVENTY 



M' 



"y brethren and sisters, I hope you 
will unite your prayers with mine 
that what I say may perchance 
carry a helpful and useful message. 

Before I start to bear my testimony, 
however, the remarks of the morning 
have prompted me to recount an expe- 
rience that my father and I had about 
sixty years ago, in the hope that the 
point may be understood. 

We were driving off Kaibab Moun- 
tain one beautiful day behind a fine 
team in an Arizona buckboard. Father 
said, "Antoine, down at the foot of the 
mountain there is a trail that cuts right 
straight across the Pipe Springs and 
crosses the Kanab wash, in a con- 
venient location. We'll take that trail, 
and we won't have to go up to Kanab 
and ride over from there." 

Then he proceeded to read a book as 
he always did when he was traveling 
and turned the lines over to me. It 
was not very long until his head was 



nodding, and he was asleep, and I have 
to confess that by the time we got to 
that turn-off I was asleep, too. When 
we waked up, we were five miles beyond 
the place where we wanted to turn off 
and believe me the detour turned out 
to be a rough one. We did not go to 
Kanab. We took the turn-off. 

When they were talking about de- 
tours this morning, I wondered if many 
of us might not be sleepwalkers; if we 
do not walk around in our sleep, and 
all at once wake up to find out that the 
team has taken us off on the wrong 
road. Then we have to turn around. I 
believe, in the straight and narrow road 
there are no chuckholes. If they are 
there, they are the chuckholes that we 
ourselves have built for ourselves. 

Brethren and sisters, it is sixty years 
ago since father and I had that expe- 
rience. It is about fifty-nine years ago 

(Continued on following page) 

421 



Antoine R. Ivins continued 



since we went to Mexico. During that 
time I have had opportunity to watch 
the Church and its directing Authori- 
ties and to note its progress. It is 
twenty-four years since I read in the 
newspaper one day that I had a new 
assignment. During those twenty-four 
years Sister Ivins and I have been mov- 
ing about among the stakes of the 
Church and in the missions, trying to 
kindle or rekindle the Spirit of God in 
the hearts of the members of the Church. 

We don't make pretense to tremen- 
dous success in it, perhaps, because we 
have no way of measuring our success, 
but we have been devoted to your serv- 
ice and devoted to the Church. It has 
given us the great opportunity to watch 
its progress, and as I sat in the priest- 
hood meeting Saturday night, where we 
had reports that 25,000 brethren heard 
the proceedings of that meeting, I was 
reminded that in the year the LDS 
gymnasium was put in operation, if my 
memory is correct, the Assembly Hall 
held the priesthood congregation. 

So there has been growth. There has 
been growth in membership as well as 
in faith and service, I believe, in the 
Church. The purpose in coming here 
today — one of the major purposes — is to 
see if we cannot stimulate the feeling 
of spirituality among the people, for, 
we who are here, perhaps most of us, 
have the responsibility of carrying back 
the spirit of this conference to the peo- 
ple who could not come, to increase 
spirituality among the people. 

I have seen attendance at our con- 
ference meetings grow and grow and 
grow, until today nearly every place we 
go, the attendance is limited by the 
capacity of the accommodations we pro- 
vide. I take it to indicate, and I be- 
lieve I am right in this, that it does de- 
note a definite increase in spirituality 
among the people. 

Now we have heard that term used 
many, many times. It is not an easy 
thing to define this idea of spirituality. 
I get no satisfaction from the diction- 
ary. The interpretation there is one 
given by people who perhaps do not 
understand their true relationship to God 
and his work. 

Since we are the spirit children of 
God, I take it that the primary mani- 
festation of spirituality is an acknowl- 
edgment that we are the sons and 
daughters of God, and that Jesus Christ 
is our Elder Brother, and it is not sur- 
prising to me, knowing that that testi- 
mony exists in the hearts of our people, 
that people not of our faith coming 
into the community, as reported by 
President McKay the other night, sense 
an unusual feeling and spirit among 
the people. The recognition that we 
are the sons and daughters of God, 
spiritually born of him, it seems to me, 
is a starting place if you are going to 
try to define spirituality. Then it 
seems to me to be a feeling of nearness 
to God, our Heavenly Father, a devo- 
tion to his cause, and a determination 
to acquit ourselves to the utmost of our 

422 



ability, of the responsibility he has given 
us in life. 

I wonder if that is a fair definition 
of spirituality? It seems to me that it 
could be. And then it's our problem to 
do what we can first with ourselves, and 
then with people who may be inclined 
to listen to us, to instil in their hearts 
the same consciousness that they are the 
sons and daughters of God, and that 
God had a definite purpose in bringing 
us here into this life of mortality. 

When you teach men that, then there 
is a greater purpose in life, of course. 
There is a greater incentive, there is a 
greater motive for righteousness, and 
perhaps spirituality could be measured 
by the degree of righteousness of the 
lives of people. It is a difficult thing 
because we do not know or read the 
hearts of people. Frequently we mis- 
judge them. If we could know their 
hearts, perhaps we could form a correct 
estimate of their spirituality, of their 
feeling toward God. That is difficult, 
and from what has been said today I 
gather that there are many people who 
have not the same understanding of it, 
who feel that spirituality and the 
ordinary pursuits of life are separated 
by a rather wide space, and sometimes 
we feel that a man who devotes him- 
self assiduously to the practical pur- 
poses of life, rendering his share, of 
course, in Church service, may not be 
as spiritual as a man who does not do 
that, but who spends his whole time 
dreaming about the uncertain things for 
which there has been no answer. 

I believe we are wrong, brothers and 
sisters, if we try to make that separation, 
for I believe it is the purpose of God 
that every honest member of the 
Church, every honest man for that mat- 
ter, should have a vigorous, active, potent 
testimony that Jesus is the Christ, that 
God is our Father, and then should 
come, through his prayer and faith, to 
an understanding of the plan of salva- 
tion, and you know, when I look before 
me and see the men who plow the 
fields, who ride the ranges, and manage 
the stakes, I feel justified in suggesting, 
brothers and sisters, that to put one 
group on one side and the other group 
on the other side, as to spirituality, is a 
dangerous thing, for I have worked with 
and slept with men who handle the 
practical things of life, and at the same 
time apply a spiritual interpretation to 
everything that is done. 

I believe, as the Doctrine and Cove- 
nants says, that God has given us no 
law which is not a spiritual law, and 
the law of life is a law of action. I 
believe it would be possible, with the 
exercise of due faith for a man to apply 
the spiritual interpretation to every 
legitimate act of life, and it is our pur- 
pose — it should be our purpose, brothers 
and sisters — in our relationships with 
each other to strive for that spiritual 
aspect. 

If you will pardon the reference to 
my father, I would like to tell you that 
one time I walked into the biggest bank 



in this city. Its president, who was not 
a member of the Church, called me over, 
and he said: "Mr. Ivins, I pay tribute 
to your father. He came the nearest 
to combining religion and business of 
any man I ever knew," and then he 
said: "Do you know, I cannot do it. 
I have to be a hard-boiled business- 
man." But he some way or another 
came to realize that under the influence 
of the gospel of Jesus Christ such a 
combination is possible, not only pos- 
sible, but to be highly recommended. 

Now brethren and sisters, it should be 
our purpose so to combine the Spirit of 
God with our daily undertakings that 
we can ask upon everything we under- 
take to do, the blessing of God, our 
Heavenly Father; that we may never 
take advantage of another; that we may 
always yield full service for the com- 
pensation that we receive; that our 
brethren and our sisters will never have 
cause to say that we may have taken 
undue advantage of them. When we 
come to apply that in our lives, this 
idea of spirituality will then be more or 
less a tangible thing. 

Spirituality is not a thing that you 
can go to the market and buy with dol- 
lars and cents and carry home in a bas- 
ket, but it is a thing which you can 
absorb in a gathering like this. It has 
to be absorbed. It cannot be bought. 
It cannot be done up in packages and 
handed to a neighbor. It must be ab- 
sorbed by him through the emanations 
of our own spirits. 

Let us strive for it, brothers and sis- 
ters. Let us seek the blessings of God 
in all we do, then Zion will shine as 
a light on a hill which all the world can 
see. 

God bless us, I pray in the name of 
Jesus. Amen. 



"Render unto 
CAESAR . . ." 



by Alma Sonne 

ASSISTANT TO THE 
COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 



MY BRETHREN AND SISTERS, I assure yOU 
at the outset that I will keep my 
eyes on the clock. I know my 
brethren will also keep their eyes on the 
clock. I ask you for an interest in your 
faith and prayers. There is so much to 
say on an occasion like this, and there 
are so many to say it that time becomes 
very precious. 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



A week ago I stood before a group of 
high school students in one of the stakes 
not far from here. I urged them on that 
occasion to accept as a project the read- 
ing of the Gospel according to Matthew 
in order to familiarize themselves with 
the life of Jesus Christ. I recall years 
ago reading about Lew Wallace who 
wrote the great story, Ben Hur. It ap- 
pears that while he was writing this 
book, he was visited by a certain well- 
known and gifted agnostic. The agnostic 
encouraged him to write the book. 
"But," said he, "do not emphasize 
the divinity of Jesus Christ. Treat 
this character as you would any other 
character in history." But Lew Wallace 
had studiously read the Gospels and 
formed his opinions of the Master on 
the record left by Matthew, Mark, Luke, 
and John. 

We have heard many things during 
this conference, and during this Easter 
time, about Jesus, the Christ. His per- 
fect life has been extolled. His teach- 
ings have been expounded. His resur- 
rection has been explained in the light 
of modern and ancient scriptures, and 
his divine mission has been emphasized 
by everyone who has spoken from this 
stand during the conference. 

Someone has said, "Jesus is still loved, 
but he is also hated, among men." There 
are those who would crucify him the 
second time, this time in the hearts of 
men. Yet there is no explanation offered 
for his marvelous life and his perlect 
record except the one he himself gave. 
"I came forth from the father," and, "If 
ye have seen me ye have seen the 
father." In his prayer of intercession* 
for his Twelve Apostles, he said: "This 
is life eternal — that they might know 
thee, the only true God, and Jesus Chirst, 
whom thou has sent." 

In the same prayer he said, "Glorify 
thou me with the glory which I had 
with thee before the world was." He 
left no room for equivocation and argu- 
ment on the question of his divinity and 
his Sonship, and I am happy today as I 
stand here, that I belong to a Church 
which accepts that teaching as very 
fundamental. 

It was William Jennings Bryan who 
stated in his famous lecture called, The 
Prince of Peace, "It is easier to believe 
him divine than to explain in any other 
way what he said and did and was." 
There are marks of distinction which 
set him apart from all others who have 
lived upon the earth. He was the mas- 
ter of every situation which confronted 
him. He answered all questions put to 
him where an answer would enlighten 
the questioner. 

Albert J. Beveridge, a Senator from 
Indiana, stated many years ago: "The 
Son of Mary is the prince of public 
speakers." He was right, for the Sermon 
on the Mount is the greatest sermon 
ever preached. It has endured nine- 
teen centuries of criticism. It has sur- 
vived the apostasy, the Dark Ages, the 
Renaissance, and the Reformation, and 
its powerful message is still reverberat- 
ing through the world. It will never 
die. 

Yesterday I know you were touched, as 

JUNE 1955 



I was, when our great choir sang "The 
Lord's Prayer." "The Lord's Prayer," 
says someone, "is perfect in its diction. 
It is comprehensive in its scope." It 
covers the essential phases of human 
existence. His stories and parables will 
live forever. "The story of the Prodigal 
Son," said Charles Dickens, "is the most 
beautiful story ever told." 

There is another one like unto it. It 
is the story of the Good Samaritan, and 
I think of one more with which you 
are very familiar. It begins, "A sower 
went out to sow." (Luke 8:5.) What a 
lovely statement that is! All of these 
stories called parables charm and capti- 
vate the reader. They are timely today, 
as fresh as they were nineteen hundred 
years ago when they were. given. They 
stir the heart to better and nobler liv- 
ing. They are a force for righteousness 
in the world. 

And there is another thing which 
I called to the attention of the young 
students a week ago, when I said, "Jesus 
is the most compelling personality in 
human history." He spoke two words 
to his followers: "Follow me," (Matthew 
8:22) and strong men gave up their 
fishing nets and followed him even to 
death." 

Pilate was uneasy and disturbed be- 
fore him. When you enter the great 
Salt Lake Temple, and as you go into the 
Assembly Room, I wish you would do 
as I have frequently done — examine 
that magnificent painting of the Lord 
Jesus standing before Pontius Pilate — 
Jesus so calm and unruffled; Pilate so 
deeply disturbed. The contrast is im- 
pressive. 

I recall another incident. It happened 
in the Garden of Gethsemane when the 
Roman soldiers came to arrest the 
Master. As they entered, Jesus said to 
these hard-faced men, "Whom seek ye?" 
They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth." 
"I am he," replied Jesus, and those men, 
in silent tribute, "went backward and 
fell to the ground." He asked again 



"Whom seek ye?" They answered, 
"Jesus of Nazareth." "I am he," re- 
sponded the Lord, and then, character- 
istic of his great soul, he said, "If there- 
fore ye seek me, let these go their way," 
referring, of course, to his disciples. (See 
John 18:4-8.) 

The writer of that circumstance gives 
one more sentence, which reads, "And 
Judas stood with them." (See Ibid., 
18:5.) I wonder what the thoughts of 
Judas were as he stood there witnessing 
the courage and love of Jesus, whom he 
had already betrayed. The moral side 
of Christ's character has no parallel. 
In it we find absolute perfection. No 
flaw, no blemish, no weakness is dis- 
covered. He is without sin. He was as 
great as the gospel he preached. He met 
every situation perfectly. He said and 
did the right thing at the right mo- 
ment. 

I am reminded of the spies who were 
sent out by the chief priests to trip and 
trap him if they could. "Is it lawful 
to pay tribute to Caesar?" they asked. 
Jesus asked for a coin. They produced 
what happened to be a tax coin with 
which the Jews paid taxes to the Roman 
government. "Whose image is on the 
coin?" asked Jesus. "It is the image of 
Caesar." Then said the Lord, "Render 
unto Caesar the things which are Cae- 
sar's, and unto God the things which 
are God's." (See Matthew 22:17-21.) I 
submit that it was the best answer that 
could possibly be given under the cir- 
cumstances. Not only that, it was a 
great sermon, although very brief, on the 
matter of honesty. 

May we worship the Lord and Master 
in spirit and in truth. May each of us 
have the conviction that he is the Re- 
deemer of the world and the promised 
Messiah, and may we join hands in car- 
rying forward his work and in explain- 
ing the restored gospel which has come 
to earth in these, the last days, through 
the instrumentality of Joseph Smith, the 
Prophet, I pray most humbly in the 
name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 



"That all men might repent" 



by Hugh B. Brown 

ASSISTANT TO THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 



My brethren and sisters, President 
McKay has been kind enough to 
advise the General Authorities in 
advance that they might be expected 
to speak at certain sessions of the con- 
ference. My turn was to come next 
Wednesday. During a half century of 
active service in the Church, I have 
never felt so wholly inadequate, so 
totally dependent on divine guidance as 
I feel right now. For that guidance I 
humbly pray. 



We sang yesterday, "We thank Thee, 
O God, for a Prophet." This hymn re- 
ferred originally to the Prophet Joseph 
Smith. In a meeting not long ago when 
President McKay announced that the 
congregation would sing, "We Thank 
Thee, O God, for a Prophet," he said, 
characteristically, "I wish you would 
have in mind the Prophet Joseph Smith 
when you sing today." 

I should like to offer a prayer that 
(Continued on following page) 

423 



Hugh B. Brown 



Continued 



has been in my heart for years, a prayer 
which I believe is in the heart of every 
Latter-day Saint throughout the world. 
"We thank thee, O God, for the Prophet, 
David O. McKay, to guide us in these 
later-latter days. We thank thee that 
through thy blessings he has had the 
vitality, the vigor, and the health to 
carry the message of the gospel to the 
four corners of the earth. We thank 
thee that his influence and his presence 
have revitalized the Saints wherever he 
has gone and have given them courage 
and hope. We thank thee that he more 
than any man among us, more than 
any of his predecessors, has carried the 
inspiration and the message of the gos- 
pel to the greatest and to an ever-in- 
creasing international audience. We 
pray that thou wilt bless him con- 
tinually and spare him to us, that we 
may enjoy his great leadership for many 
years to come." 

From the bottom of my heart I sus- 
tain and support these men, the Presi- 
dent of the Church and his Counselors, 
the President of the Council of the 
Twelve, and each individual member of 
that Council, and the Patriarch as 
prophets, seers, and revel ators to the 
Church. I am grateful for the privilege 
of meeting with them occasionally. 

Some of our friends have said we are 
inclined to worship the General Au- 
thorities. We love them; we listen to 
their counsel; we thank God for them; 
but they would not permit us to wor- 
ship them. If we should be so in- 
clined, they would be the first to rebuke 
us. They would doubtless say to us 
what the angel said to John on the Isle 
of Patmos, when he was about to kneel 
before him, 

See thou do it not: I am thy fellow- 
servant . . . worship God. (Rev. 19:10.) 

But it is our privilege to be guided 
by their inspired counsel. I pray that 
God will help us never to lose sight of 
and ever be grateful for the outstand- 
ing leadership in the Church today. 

Elder Alma Sonne mentioned Easter- 
tide. This is the season of the year 
when we know spring is coming, al- 
though here in Salt Lake City today it 
takes a lot of faith to believe it. But it 
is the season of the year when things 
are revitalized and renewed, and it is 
the time of year when Christians every- 
where celebrate Easter in commemora- 
tion of the resurrection of the Lord. 

As I speak of these men and of their 
leadership, I am reminded of some ad- 
ditional reasons ' why we should be 
grateful for the Easter season. Through 
the restoration of the gospel we have 
knowledge and assurance regarding the 
actual resurrection of the body of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. Not only that he was 
resurrected from the dead, but also that 
he ascended into heaven with his glori- 
fied body, and he will come again in 
material form and substance. We are 
grateful for the comfort and the hope 
which comes with this assurance. 

The revelations concerning the na- 

424 



ture and attributes of our Heavenly 
Father and of his Son, Jesus Christ, are 
of transcendent importance to all men 
everywhere. Modern confirmation and 
elucidation of biblical evidence on this 
all-important subject began with the 
first vision in the Sacred Grove in 1820, 
and it was renewed and continued in 
that glorious vision in 1832 at Hiram, 
Ohio, when the Lord declared, 

Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O 
earth, and rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, 
for the Lord is God, and beside him there 
is no Savior. 

Great is his wisdom, marvelous are his 
ways, and the extent of his doings none 
find out. 

His purposes fail not, neither are there 
any who can stay his hand. 

From eternity to eternity he is the same, 
and his years never fail. (D. & C. 76:1-4.) 

The restoration of the gospel of Jesus 
Christ came pursuant to prophetic prom- 
ise and was a necessary sequel to the 
great apostasy. It was during the apos- 
tasy that an attempt was made to 
harmonize pagan philosophy with Chris- 
tian truth. This task was undertaken 
at the behest of non-Christian emperors 
and resulted in uninspired declarations 
in which God was defined — or rather 
denied — by declaring him to be immate- 
rial, incomprehensible, and without 
body or parts, occupying no part of 
finite or infinite space, in other words, 
non-existent. 

We thank God for the restoration of 
the gospel which refutes such doctrine. 
In their attempt to incorporate Jesus 
the Christ into their pagan concept of 
the Godhead, the Roman emperors, 
through their appointed delegates to 
various councils, undertook to have him 
divest himself of his body, that body 
which came from the tomb when the 
angel rolled the stone away, that glori- 
fied body with which he ascended into 
heaven before the wondering gaze of his 
disciples. Obviously this resurrected 
body, being material, could not become 
a part of their immaterial God which 
had no parts. They would have him 
shed that body and thereby deny every- 
thing that Easter stands for; for if he 
is incomprehensible and immaterial, 



THE YOUNG IN HEART 

By L. M. Beck 

T_Te who is young in heart, though not in 
-*• ■*■ years, 

Is doubly blest. Behind him lies the strife, 
The doubts, and discords of his youthful 

fears, 
The turmoils and uncertainties of life. 
Yet his is not the part to stand and wait, 
To be a rigid milestone by the road 
But rather to alleviate the fate 
Of those who carry far too great a load. 
He has done much — but there is more to 

do- 
Accomplished much, and through his knowl- 
edge can 
Apply experience, and start anew 
To build a better world for every man. 



then he is not a resurrected being; and 
if he is not a resurrected being, Easter 
is meaningless. 

Again I say let us thank God for the 
clarification that has come through 
modern revelation concerning the per- 
sonal attributes of the three members of 
the Godhead. 

Jesus Christ revealed the Father to us 
and said, ". . . he that hath seen me 
hath seen the Father." (John 14:9.) 
The Son was in his express image. He 
revealed a compassionate Father, a di- 
vine Parent, one in whom were incorpo- 
rated the attributes of justice, judgment, 
mercy, and truth. He revealed a God 
of love, of forgiveness, and understand- 
ing. The restored gospel supplants the 
motives of fear and awe with faith and 
trust. The beloved disciple tells us, 
". . . perfect love casteth out fear." 
(I John 4:18.) Love as a dominant 
attribute of God and a saving quality 
in man is reasserted and emphasized. 

The new commandment which Jesus 
gave was, "That ye love one another 
even as I have loved you." His love 
for us is eternal. Nothing can separate 
us from it. Sin may separate us from 
him, but his love endures forever. Listen 
to Paul's testimony: 

For I am persuaded, that neither death, 
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor 
powers, nor things present, nor things to 
come, 

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other 
creature, shall be able to separate us from 
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus 
our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39.) 

1 I should like to speak to these young 
people who have been singing for us, 
and to other young people of the 
Church, for like others who have spoken, 
my heart is with the youth of Zion. I 
should like to say to these young people 
that God is their Father, that the Savior 
is pleading for and with them to keep 
clean, clean in their thinking, in their 
speaking, in their conduct, that he ex- 
pects them to be worthy of him and of 
the sacrifice he made for them and for 
all of us. He is the Good Shepherd who 
gave his life for the sheep. He evinced 
the solicitude of the Good Shepherd in 
his last injunction to Peter, "Feed my 
sheep." (John 21:16.) 

I should like to add another word to 
the young people. One of the most 
lethal weapons which the Adversary has 
devised to destroy the young people of 
the Church and of the world is to per- 
suade them that if they have made a 
mistake they are lost, there is no hope. 
According to that doctrine, if a young 
person, in a weak moment, becomes 
guilty of some misdemeanor, he might 
as well go on to juvenile delinquency 
and crime and felony because he is lost 
anyway. So the devil would have them 
believe and thus lead them down to 
hell. 

Young people, your Father in heaven 
loves you; he loves you with a love 
beyond what your earthly parents can 
know. If you make mistakes — and you 
will and all of us have — our Heavenly 
Father stands ready to forgive and to 
welcome you when you come to your- 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



selves and turn your backs on the husks 
and your faces toward home. He will 
embrace you and say, "For this my son 
was dead, and is alive again; he was 
lost and is found." (Luke 15:24.) But 
let no one think he will not have to 
pay for his folly. The Father could not 
in justice say to the prodigal what he 
said to his older son, "All that I have 
is thine." (Ibid., v. 31.) 

Our Father is kind and loving and 
forgiving, but there is an inexorable 
law which has not been repealed. It 
is the law of the harvest. "As ye sow, 
so shall ye reap" (See Galatians 6:7.) 
We cannot sow thistles and reap figs, 
nor plant thorns and harvest grapes. 
But when we have had enough of this- 
tles and thorns, we may have the grapes 
and the figs if we are willing to pay the 
price — and they cost less. While ours 
is a world governed by rigid and un- 
wavering law, man has free agency, he 
may choose to obey or disobey the law, 
but he must of course abide the conse- 
quences of his choice. 

One other thing to the young folk — 
sometimes you come to us with prob- 
lems when you are perplexed and con- 
fused and feel that you are inhibited, 
not free to think or express opinions. 
When we talk to you of free agency 
and explain that it refers not only to 
actions but to thoughts and opinions, 
you wonder if that is always the case. 
Some of you have said to us, "But our 
right to express our own opinions is 
trammeled or abridged by the authori- 
tative statements of parents, teachers, 
and others. 

Young people, we will protect your 
freedom to think, to express your 
thoughts, and to search for truth. We 
want you to continue that search fear- 
lessly. We promise you will be unin- 
hibited in that search. You should 
remember, however, that God has given 
us sources through which we may have 
some authoritative answers. Not all the 
answers, no! If we had all the answers, 
there would be an end to the search. 
We must not expect to have all the an- 
swers immediately, for God himself in 
his wisdom has withheld some of them. 
We believe in continued and continuing 
revelation, and that means that we be- 
lieve there are things to be made known 
which we do not now know. We be- 
lieve it is a good thing to reserve judg- 
ment on problems that are difficult of 
solution until more light comes. This 
principle of withholding judgment and 
waiting for new revelation should apply 
in all fields of learning. Scientists 
make rather definite statements at times, 
but some of us have lived to see them 
either amend or abandon their findings 
in the light of newly discovered truth. 
As long as scientists are still searching 
and discovering and as long as new 
revelation is promised, why insist upon 
final answers now? It is my conviction 
that new revelation will come when we 
have learned to live up to the truth we 
now have. Wisdom counsels patience. 

And so, with respect to some things 
that now seem difficult to understand, 
we can well afford to wait until we have 
JUNE 1955 



all the facts, until all the evidence is 
in. Now do not misunderstand me. 
There will never come a time when 
any revelation of truth from God will 
be in conflict with any other truth re- 
vealed from him, whether it comes as 
direct revelation or as reward for dili- 
gent search. If there seems to be con- 
flict, it is because men, fallible men, 
are unable properly to interpret God's 
revelations or man's discoveries. 

May he help us that we may go for- 
ward fearlessly but reverently in our 
search for truth and have due respect 
not only for our parents and our teach- 
ers, but also for those through whom 
God has promised his revelations. 

By the same token, we should not 
undertake to state the time nor the 
order in which the gospel shall be given 
to any of the races or nations of the 
earth. We should not attempt to regu- 
late God's program by our little wrist 
watches nor insist that he be governed 
by our schedule of events. He has 
promised the gospel to every nation, 
kindred, tongue, and people, and he 
and only he knows when they are ready 
for. its message and its blessings. When 
that time comes, I bear you my witness, 
prophetic witness, if you will, that he 
will reveal his will to the leaders of 
the Church concerning all of his people. 
He has said, 

Remember the worth of souls [all souls] 
is great in the sight of God; 

For, behold the Lord your Redeemer 
suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he 
suffered the pain of all men, that all men 
might repent and come unto him. 

And he hath risen again from the dead, 



that he might bring all men unto him, on 
conditions of repentance. 

And how great is his joy in the soul that 
repenteth! (D. & C. 18:10-13. Italics added.) 

Brothers and sisters, I humbly bear 
my testimony to you that I do know 
that God is my Father, that Jesus of 
Nazareth is my Redeemer and my 
friend. I thank him for the blessed 
privilege of engaging in the ministry, 
and I praise his holy name that through 
his servants he has shown his willing- 
ness to use the weakest of us to do some 
little good in that ministry. 

God bless us to recognize him as the 
Good Shepherd and to go forward with 
faith, unafraid of the future, and with 
complete confidence to say with the 
Psalmist: 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not 
want. 

He maketh me to lie down in green pas- 
tures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in 
the paths of righteousness for his name's 
sake. 

Yea, though I walk through the valley 
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: 
for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff 
they comfort me. 

Thou preparest a table before me in the 
presence of mine enemies: thou anointest 
my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow 
me all the days of my life: and I will dwell 
in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 
23.) 

We pray this may be true for all of 
us in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 



Wednesday Morning Session, April 6, 1955 

"To Kick Against the Pricks" 



by Spencer W. Kimball 

OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 



A young Indian lad in my presence 
recently bore his testimony, and he 
said: "I am proud that I am a 
Navajo. I am proud, more proud, that 
I am a Mormon, and I am still more 
proud that I hold the priesthood," and 
that is the way I feel today in this great 
assembly on this anniversary. One hun- 
dred and twenty-five years ago six people 
gathered together in the first conference; 
and at this conference some ten sessions 
have filled the building to its capacity. I 
bear witness that the work that we are 
engaged in is the work of the Lord in 
all its comprehensiveness, and I am 
grateful that I am a member of the 
Lord's Church. I have prayed much 



that what I say this morning might be 
beneficial to someone. 

And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou 
persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick 
against the pricks. (Acts 9:5.) 

The Lord was speaking to the power- 
ful figure, Saul of Tarsus, Paul of Chris- 
tianity. I often wondered just what 
this meant. I found one authority who 
offered this: 

. . . Those who kick at the goad, that 
stifle and smother the convictions of con- 
science, that rebel against God's truths and 
laws, that quarrel with His providences, 

(Continued on following page) 

425 



Spencer W. Kimball 



Continued 



that persecute and oppose His ministers, 
because they reprove them . . . and fly in 
the face of their reprovers, they kick against 
the pricks, and will have a great deal to 
answer for. (Commentaries by Henry M 
Scott.) 

A goad is defined as a spear or a sharp 
pointed stick used to sting or prick. 
The burro who kicks the sharp instru- 
ment with which he is being prodded is 
kicking at the pricks., His retaliation does 
little damage to the sharp stick or to 
him who wields it but brings distress 
to the foot that kicks it. 

I well remember in my youth a neigh- 
bor who moved about for some days 
on crutches. He was evasive when 
asked the cause of his misfortune, but 
an ear witness told me, as he chuckled: 
"John stubbed his toe on a chair in the 
night and in his quick, fierce anger, he 
kicked the chair and broke his toe." The 
rocking chair rocked on and on, and per- 
haps smiled at the stupidity of man. 

The first king of Israel quarreled with 
Providence. His stubbornness cost him 
his kingdom and brought forth the caus- 
tic denunciation from his prophet: 

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, 
and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. 
Because thou hast rejected the word of the 
Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being 
king. (I Samuel 15:23.) 

O foolish monarch! Given power, 
wealth, opportunity, why throw them 
all away? The Prophet Samuel de- 
nounced the independent, arrogant Saul; 
the superior, unhumble Saul; the proud, 
conceited Saul: 

When thou wast little in thine own sight, 
wast thou not made the head of the tribes 
of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king 
over Israel? (Ibid., 15:17.) 

There is the man who rebelled 
against the call of Brigham Young to 
go to southern valleys, saying: "No- 
body is going to tell me where to go 
and what to do." Through his personal 
rebellion, he took his entire family out 
of the Church. How little he retarded 
the colonization program! The valleys 
were settled in spite of him. How little 
his disaffection injured the Church! 
It has grown steadily without him. But 
how he has suffered in his eternal pro- 
gression. In contrast, there were many 
who pulled up stakes, moved to new 
worlds, and reared families of faith 
and devotion. 

There are many who, because trou- 
bles come, cease praying to the Lord, 
letting loose of the very rod of protec- 
tion at the precise moment when that 
hand-hold is so vital. 

There is the man who, to satisfy his 
own egotism, took a stand against the 
Authorities of the Church. He followed 
the usual pattern, not apostasy at first, 
only superiority of knowledge and mild 
criticism. He loved the brethren, he 
said, but they failed to see and interpret 
as he would like. He would still love 
the Church, he maintained, but his 
criticism grew and developed into ever- 

426 



widening circles. He was right, he 
assured himself; he could not yield in 
good conscience; he had his pride. His 
children did not accept his philosophy 
wholly, but their confidence was shaken. 
In their frustration, they married out 
of the Church, and he lost them. He 
later realized his folly and returned to 
humbleness, but so very late. He had 
lost his children. "It is hard for thee 
to kick against the pricks." 
The Prophet Ezekiel said: 

The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and 
the children's teeth are set on edge. (Ezekiel 
18:2.) 

There is the man who resisted release 
from positions in the Church. He knew 
positions were temporary trusts, but he 
criticized the presiding leader who had 
released him, complaining that proper 
recognition had not been given; the time 
had not been propitious; it had been a 
reflection upon his effectiveness. He 
bitterly built up a case for himself, ab- 
sented himself from his meetings, and 
justified himself in his resultant es- 
trangement. His children partook of 
his frustrations, and his children's chil- 
dren. In later life he "came to himself," 
and on the brink of the grave made an 
about-face. His family would not ef- 
fect the transformation which now he 
would give his life to have them make. 
How selfish! Haughty pride induces 
eating sour grapes, and innocent ones 
have their teeth set on edge. "It is 
hard for thee to kick against the pricks." 

When I was a child, we used the 
expression, "He cut off his nose to 
spite his face." To us, that meant that 
one was fighting against fate, rebell- 
ing against the inevitable, damaging 
himself to spite others, breaking his toe 
to give vent to his senseless anger. 

Eight lovely children had blessed the 
temple marriage of a man and woman 
who in later years were denied a temple 
recommend. They would not be so 
dealt with by this young bishop. Why 
should they be deprived and humiliat- 
ed? Were they less worthy than others? 
They argued that this boy-bishop was 
too strict, too orthodox. Never would 
they be active, nor enter the door of 
that Church as long as that bishop 
presided. They would show him. The 
history of this family is tragic. The 
four younger ones were never baptized; 
the,, four older ones never were ordained, 
endowed, nor sealed. No missions were 
filled by this family. Today the parents 
are ill at ease, still defiant. They had 
covered themselves with a cloud, and 
righteous prayers could not pass through. 
(See Lam. 3:44.) 

Sour grapes! Such unhappy food! 

The works, and the designs, and the pur- 
poses of God cannot be frustrated, neither 
can they come to naught. (D. & C. 3:1.) 

But the individual who fights them 
finds disillusionment, disappointment, 
and misery. The Lord said: ". . . the 
rebellious shall be pierced with much 



sorrow." (Ibid., 1:3.) He outlines fur- 
ther the fate of the fighters. 

As well might man stretch forth his puny 
arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed 
course, or to turn it up stream. . . . 

Why are so few chosen? 

Because their hearts are set so much upon 
the things of this world, and aspire to the 
honors of men, that they do not learn this 
one lesson — 

That the rights of the priesthood . . . 

. . . may be conferred upon us it is true; 
but when we undertake to cover our sins, 
or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition 
... in any degree of unrighteousness, be- 
hold, the heavens withdraw themselves; 
the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when 
it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or 
the authority of that man. 

Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto 
himself, to kick against the pricks, to perse- 
cute the saints, and to fight against God. 
(Ibid., 121:33-38.) 

Of such who defy the Lord, trample 
upon his sacred ordinances, fight his 
leaders, the Lord has this to say: 

Cursed are all those that shall lift up 
the heel against mine anointed, saith the 
Lord, and cry they have sinned when they 
have not sinned before me, saith the Lord, 
but have done that which was meet in mine 
eyes, and which I commanded them. 

But those who cry transgression do it 
because they are the servants of sin, and 
are the children of disobedience them- 
selves. . . . 

Wo unto them; . . . they shall be severed 
from the ordinances of mine house. 

. . . they themselves shall be despised by 
those that flattered them. 

They shall not have right to the priest- 
hood, nor their posterity after them from 
generation to generation. (Ibid., 121:16-17, 
19,21.) 

In the last century the Lord con- 
demned a Brother Almon Babbitt: 

. . . behold, he aspireth to establish his 
counsel which I have ordained, even that 
of the Presidency of my Church; and he 
setteth up a golden calf for the worship of 
my people. {Ibid., 124:84.) 

He was like those Romans of whom 
Paul spoke: 

For the wrath of God is revealed from 
heaven against all ungodliness and un- 
righteousness of men. ... 

Because that, when they knew God, they 
glorified him not as God, . . . but became 
vain in their imaginations, and their foolish 
heart was darkened. 

Professing themselves to be wise, they 
became fools. (Romans 1:18, 21, 22.) 

For although a man may have many 
revelations, and have power to do many 
mighty works, [the Lord said] yet if he 
boasts in his own strength, and sets at 
naught the counsels of God, and follows 
after the dictates of his own will and carnal 
desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance 
of a just God upon him. (D. & C. 3:4.) 

Martin Harris was chastised by the 
Redeemer as 

... a wicked man, who has set at naught 
the counsels of God, and has broken the 
most sacred promises which were made be- 
fore God, and has depended upon his own 
wisdom. (Ibid., 3:12-13.) 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



Only the transgression of His people 
can nullify the work of the Lord, He 
says. And Jacob laments: 

. . . O the vainness, and the frailties, and 
the foolishness of men! When they are 
learned they think they are wise, and they 
hearken not unto the counsel of God, for 
they set it aside, supposing they know of 
themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is fool- 
ishness and it profiteth them not. And 
they shall perish. (2 Nephi 9:28.) 

Men continue to try to create God, 
to control God, and to thwart his pur- 
poses but: 

His purposes fail not, neither are there 
any who can stay his hand. 

From eternity to eternity he is the same, 
and his years never fail. (D. & C. 76:3-4.) 

But men in their egotism continue 
to try. Against men like these, Paul 
warned his colleague: 

O Timothy, keep that which is committed 
to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain 
babblings, and oppositions of science falsely 
so called. (I Tim. 6:20.) 

The Caesars burned the early Saints 
as torches, subjected them to the claws 
of wild beasts in the coliseums, drove 
them underground into the catacombs, 
confiscated their property, and snuffed 
out their lives, but all to no avail, for 
the fires of devotion and sacrifice were 
only intensified thereby. 

The persecutors decapitated John the 
Baptist, ran a lance through the Apostle 
James, and according to tradition mar- 
tyred the missionary, Paul, and cruci- 
fied the mighty Simon Barjona. They 
failed of purpose. Where a relatively 
few contemporaries ever heard them, 
hundreds of millions have since been 
enlightened by their doctrines and in- 
spired by their testimonies. 

"Mormonism will fail if we kill their 
prophet," they said a century ago as 
they murdered Joseph Smith in cold 
blood. Undoubtedly their fiendish grins 
of satisfaction at such a foul deed 
changed to perturbed grimaces when 
they came to realize that they had been 
but kicking against sharp points, in- 
juring only themselves. Mormonism 
was not destroyed by the cruel martyr- 
dom, but here was its vitality. The 
bullet-torn flesh fertilized the soil; the 
blood they shed moistened the seed; 
and the spirits they sent heavenward 
will testify against them throughout 
eternities. The cause persists and grows. 

Gamaliel, the noted Pharisee doctor 
of the law, teacher of Saul of Tarsus, 
had deeper perception than did his as- 
sociates, the chief priests who would 
have slain the Apostles. He warned: 

. . . take heed to yourselves what ye in- 
tend t® do as touching these men. . . . 

Refrain from these men, and let them 
alone: for if this counsel or this work be 
of men, it will come to nought: 

But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow 
it; lest haply ye be found even to fight 
against God. (Acts 5:35, 38-39.) 

What sagacity! How wise this learn- 
ed man! "Take heed to yourselves" 
JUNE 1955 



he warned. It was a boomerang. He 
reminded them of the fate of the in- 
fluential Theudas with his great swell- 
ing words, his vaunted knowledge, his 
brilliant mind, his superior logic, who 
with his following of hundreds kicked 
"against the pricks," resisted truth, 
fought against God, and "came to 
nought." 

He spoke of Judas of Galilee and his 
vain philosophies and his flattering 
words which brought him and his fol- 
lowing oblivion. Early leaders whose 
names are linked with those of Joseph 
and Hyrum have come and gone. 
Heavens opened, revelations flowed, and 
holy angels ministered to them. Posi- 
tions of trust were given them, but with 
it all there came arrogance, jealousies, 
and disaffections. 

For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, 
and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes 
are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter: 

Their wine is the poison of dragons, and 
the cruel venom of asps. (Deut. 32:32-33.) 

Are not these the self-planted, self- 
nourished, and self-harvested grapes of 
wrath? O stupid man, O egotistical 
man! Thinking only of self he profanes 
the way of the Lord and brings sorrow 
to his posterity whose roses turn to 
ashes, whose fruit becomes only skin- 
covered stones. The grapes are so sour. 
How terrifying such a responsibility! 
"It is hard for thee to kick against the 
pricks." 

But wo unto him that has the law given, 
yea, and that has all the commandments 
of God, like unto us, and that transgresseth 
them, and that wasteth the days of his 
probation, for awful is his state! (2 Nephi 
9:27.) 

In a page from the journal of the 
Prophet Joseph, we find this: "At 3:30 
p.m. I met with Brigham Young [and 
others whom he named] in my office." 
And then this: "Write to Oliver Cow- 
dery and ask him if he has not eaten 
husks long enough? If he is not almost 
ready to return, be clothed with robes 
of righteousness, and go up to Jerusa- 
lem? Orson Hyde hath need of him." 
(History of the Church, Vol. 5, pp. 366, 
368.) 

This is likely reminiscent of the prodi- 
gal son whose sad fate brought him to 
the eating of husks with the swine after 
he had turned from the luxurious board 
of plenty at his father's table. And like 
him, the modern man of rare oppor- 
tunity fought against his conscience, 
stifled his best impulses; and finally 
when the earthly powers were near an 
end, his influence in the world largely 
terminated, he "came to himself" back 
to the program he had resisted. Many 
teeth had been set on edge in the years 
of his unproductive, sterile years. His 
brother-in-law, David Whitmer, said 
of him as he was restored to the Church 
late in life: 

"Oliver died the happiest man I ever 
saw. After shaking hands with his fam- 
ily and kissing his wife and daughter, he 
said: 'Now I lay me down for the last 



time. . . .' And he died with a smile 
on his face." 

Peace, sweet peace, finally comes to 
all men when they humbly yield to the 
gentle pressures of the Spirit. 

The story of the transformation of 
Alma is not unlike that of Paul. With 
his companions he set about to "steady 
the ark," to set straight the leaders of 
the Church, and to take over the minds 
of the people. These young men were 
brilliant, eloquent, impressive. The 
angel of the Lord in a cloud spoke "as 
it were with a voice of thunder which 
caused the earth to shake," and the 
astonished men fell to the earth, Alma 
becoming dumb and lifeless. Carried 
helpless to his father he was recovered 
after long fasting and prayer by those 
who loved him. In his remorse he cried 
out: 

I was in the darkest abyss but now I be- 
hold the marvelous light of God. My soul 
was ' wracked with eternal torment, but I 
am snatched and my soul is pained no more. 

It took courage for Alma and the 
princes to admit they were wrong, but 
they went about "zealously striving to 
repair all the injuries which they had 
done to the church." (See Mos. 27:35.) 

We quote Paul again: 

Beware lest any man spoil you through 
philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradi- 
tion of men, after the rudiments of the 
world, and not after Christ. (Col. 2:8.) 

The antediluvians were a law unto 
themselves and locked doors against 
themselves. Jonah, in his egotism, took 
offense when the repentance of Nineveh 
rendered unnecessary the fulfilment of 
his prophecy. Judas fought against God 
and suffered the buffetings of Satan. 
Sherem with his learning, his eloquence 
and his flattery, sought to turn away 
people from the simple faith, and he died 
in remorse and humiliation. Nehor tried 
to advance his own cause, increase his 
popularity, and lead a following with his 
criticisms and flatteries, and came to 
ignominious death. Korihor, with his 
teachings of intellectual liberty and his 
rationalizations, followed his temporary 
popularity with begging in the streets. 
The Jonahs and Almas and Korihors 
live on and undertake to cover their 
sins, gratify their pride, and vain ambi- 
tions. They grieve the Spirit of the 
Lord, withdraw from holy places and 
righteous influences, and in the words of 
the Savior: 

Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto 
himself, to kick against the pricks, to perse- 
cute the saints and to fight against God. 
(D. & C. 121:38.) 

But be it said to the everlasting glory 
of men, numerous good people who have 
tasted of and recovered from offense, 
having come to realize that so long as 
mortality exists we live and work with 
imperfect people; and there will be mis- 
understandings, offenses, and injuries to 
sensitive feelings. The best of motives 
are often misunderstood. It is gratify- 
ing to find many who, in their bigness 
(Continued on following page) 

427 



* 

Spencer W. Kimball continued 

of soul have straightened out their 
thinking, swallowed their pride, forgiven 
what they had felt were personal slights. 
Numerous others who have walked criti- 
cal, lonely, thorny paths in abject 
misery, have finally accepted correction, 
acknowledged errors, cleansed their 
hearts of bitterness, and have come again 
to peace, that coveted peace which is 
so conspicuous in its absence. And the 
frustrations of criticism, bitterness, and 
the resultant estrangements have given 
place to warmth and light and peace. 
And all those who have come into the 
warmth of the love of the Lord Jesus 



Christ' and his program, could shout 
with the Prophet Joseph Smith: 

. . . Let your hearts rejoice, and be ex- 
ceedingly glad. . . . 

And let the sun, moon, and the morning 
stars sing together, and let all the sons of 
God shout for joy. And let the eternal cre- 
ations declare his name forever and ever! 
And again I say, how glorious is the voice 
we hear from heaven, proclaiming in our 
ears, glory, and salvation, and honor, and 
immortality, and eternal life; kingdoms, 
principalities, and powers! (Ibid., 128:22-23.) 

May God bless us all that we may live 
near him always, I pray in the name of 
Jesus Christ. Amen. 



Joys of Childhood 



by S. Dilworth Young 

OF THE FIRST COUNCIL OF THE SEVENTY 



I assure you, my brethren and sisters, 
that it is an easy thing to be a fol- 
lower of Brother Spencer Kimball, 
both in making addresses and in the 
work of the Church. His gentleness and 
kindness to those with whom he con- 
ducts affairs is known by all of you and 
shared by me. Likewise, it is easy to 
follow the lead of the Presidency. There 
have been times in my life when I have 
had to be rebuked. Never yet, however, 
was it done in any way other than in 
the utmost gentleness, and I have found 
myself more anxious than ever to do 
better work. "Kicking against the 
pricks" — that particular kind of pricks — 
is easy. 

Saturday I sat for a good part of the 
meeting in the last session of the 
Primary conference as those lovely 
women portrayed to the audience the 
things they do for children in Primary. 
I recalled how in like manner the Sun- 
day School officers and teachers at- 
tempt gently to lead children into 
righteousness, and, as the children grow 
older, how the Mutual Improvement 
Associations gather them into groups and 
attempt to interpret to them the nature 
of their acts in relation to the gospel — 
a worthy effort. It occurred to me that 
we parents leave too much to them. 

It was said in my hearing some time 
ago that if a child goes to all of these 
auxiliary organizations faithfully, he is 
bound, all things being equal, to be- 
come a good Latter-day Saint when he 
grows up. Let me assure you that that 
is true in part, but only if another factor 
' is brought into the picture. 

That Primary child will leave about 

428 



five o'clock for home, will walk down 
the street, or along the village road, 
and will arrive eventually at his own 
domicile. There is where the next test 
comes. 

In the few moments allotted to me, 
I should like to talk about two items, 
and I do not wish to be misunderstood, 
but I want to be as clear as I know how 
to be. These have to do with the use of 
things in the home which touch that 
child's character. You heard it said the 
other day that Satan has no power over 
a child until eight years of age. I be- 
lieve that to be true, but I wish to re- 
mind you all, and myself, too, that 
Satan may have no power to tempt a 
child before eight years of age, but some 
of his emissaries go all out to condition 
a child so that when he becomes eight 
he will not be conscious that sinning 
is very bad. Exposing children, small 
children particularly, to the constant 
barrage of situations which can affect 
their outlook on the matters on which 
they must make decisions is a subtle way 
to bring them into evil later. I suspect 
it is no different with large children. 
Nowadays the home is one place where 
the child meets this test. 

The first item is comic books, and the 
things we call "funnies." Harmless- 
appearing things they are. A frustrated 
mother likes to get the supper on, and 
the child nagging at her can easily be 
pacified, if he is old enough, by a hand- 
ful of these books. It is easy entertain- 
ment, and she may feel that the child 
will look at them and gain something 
from the pictures. 

If I were a parent again and had a 



small child, I never would allow him to 
look at a comic book until I had looked 
through it myself, and if it contained 
one thing suggestive of anything but the 
highest principles, that child, if I had 
the power, would not see that book. 

Comic books in the home are a poor 
substitute for activity on the part of 
parents in relation to their children. 
They can do, and often do, untold evil. 
At best, they are poor entertainment. 
They stop a child from learning how to 
read well. They stultify his desire to 
learn good literature, and he ends up 
by being a picture gazer, able to absorb 
ideas through that means only. 

I am ever grateful to my uncle, and to 
my own parents for getting me in the 
line of reading good things. I well re- 
call two incidents. One day there came 
to my door the postman, and he brought 
a magazine known then as the Cosmo- 
politan. In that day it was not what it 
is today. It was considered to be a high- 
class magazine, about as high as they 
come in America. My name was on it, 
and there was a note accompanying it, 
and it said: "You are to have this sub- 
scription for a whole year, with love — 
Uncle Lee." I was then six years old, 
and I could no more understand the 
words in that magazine than I could 
have understood an angel, had I seen 
one. But it was my magazine, and 
every month I watched for it, and every 
month I tried to justify my uncle's con- 
fidence in me that he thought I could 
understand such a thing. The gift, 
even though not understood, built in me 
a pride that I wanted to measure up. 

Another time he stood in the library 
of the old house on Fourth East — I sup- 
pose he knew I was in the house — and 
I burst into the library, and there he 
was in front of a bookcase with a book 
open ^ in his hand. He said, "Come 
here." I went there. He read to me a 
most exciting adventure between some 
white men and some Indians. He said, 
"This is a great book, and I know you 
will like it." Then he put it in my 
hands, and said, "Read it, and when 
you finish reading it, I have another 
one equally good for you." Thus I be- 
came acquainted with The Last of the 
Mohicans, and I thus was led until I 
could appreciate good literature, and had 
learned to read well and rapidly — one 
of the greatest gifts I have ever had. 

Brothers and sisters, do not allow 
your children to have in their hands 
things which will keep them from learn- 
ing the art of reading, and which in 
addition will also give them evil from 
pictures which you have not censored 
yourselves. 

The second item is a thing which I 
am sure many of you will not agree 
about — television — the very thing that 
is bringing this conference to thousands 
of people. Used correctly it is a great 
blessing. Abused, it can be a source of 
evil. How would you like to have a 
man walk into your home and say to 
your daughter, aged ten, "Look, honey, 
I have some pictures to show you," 
and then he shows her some pictures of 
half-dressed people performing antics, 
doing lewd things or questionable things 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



or uncultured things. You would do 
anything in your power to keep him 
from entering your house, and yet at the 
touch of a button that is what you have 
if you do not take care. 

No one knows how far it will go, and 
no one knows where it will stop. You 
keep on feeding to a child— a small 
child — the sight of his parents laughing 
over a humorous situation, happily en- 
gaged in enjoying something, and then 
having that thing linked to some item 
which the producers are trying to sell 
which is evil, and the child will con- 
nect the laughter with the evil, and will 
not see any evil in it. If you keep that 
up for several years, over and over again, 
what do you think will happen? 

I saw an example of it just the other 
day. Sister Young and I happened to be 
in a small town overnight on our way 
to a conference, and having an hour or 
two to spend, we happened to pass a 
theater which advertised a moving pic- 
ture which was very famous a year or 
two ago. We went in. 

The theme of the picture had to do 
with three men coming home from war, 
two of whom spend their first night 
home with their families getting drunk. 
The antics of these drunken men 
brought hysterical laughter from a cer- 
tain group. It was not the adults. It 
was the high-pitched, shrill, laughter 
oi small children. Where do you sup- 
pose they learned to laugh at that sort 
of thing? Do you think that one show 
would cause it? No. They have been 
exposed for a long time to such things. 
Movies are not the entire cause. Tele- 
vision has its share of the blame to 
take. 

I think it would be a good thing 
sometimes if we had on our instru- 
ments at home a little slot in which we 
had to drop fifty cents before we could 
enjoy the program. That might be a 
deterrent to some programs which we 
view because we do not have the dis- 
crimination to turn them off. 

Nowadays, gone is the dining room, 
that sacred place where Father gathered 
his family around him at suppertime, 
and where he could give instruction and 
they could get acquainted. Now it has 
disappeared into the laps of those who 
sit by small stools gulping food while 
they watch their favorite program on 
television. 

There will be other evils come, too, if 
we do not control this, and the other 
things which come into our homes un- 
censored, simply because they are there, 
and we permit them. Handled correctly 
television can be an influence for good. 
Handled incorrectly, it will become a 
force for endless evil. 

I wanted to raise my voice to that 
extent this morning. My testimony of 
the gospel of Jesus Christ is sure at this 
moment. I hope it will always be so. 
If I act right, it will be. I know that 
the President of this Church, President 
McKay, is the Prophet of the Living 
God, and that those who help him are, 
also, and I pledge myself and all that 
I have to the service to which they have 
called me. In the name of Christ. 
Amen. 
JUNE 1955 



"unless we have His message" 



by George Q. Morris 

OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 



M 



"y dear brethren and sisters, I am 
thankful for the privilege of being, 
with you in this great conference, 
and have been thrilled with the mes- 
sages we have received, beginning with 
the impressive and inspired message 
from President McKay, up until this 
moment. I sincerely pray that the Lord 
may direct me to say that which is true 
and that he would have said. 

I have been impressed with the num- 
ber of references to and testimonies re- 
garding our Lord and Savior, Jesus 
Christ. It is our obligation and our 
privilege to proclaim him to the world. 
He has come to us in our day. He 
has established for us his Church. He 
has placed in it his authority and his 
.power, and he is directing it through 
his servant on the earth who stands as 
his representative in the world today. 

It is our privilege and our pleasure 
and our joy to proclaim his divinity, 
and that fact, the divinity of Jesus 
Christ, is the center fact of human exist- 
ence, and the basic truth in human 
life. If we do not know that and are 
not governed by it, our lives will be 
failures. Unless we have his message 
and his instructions, we shall not know 
what life is, we shall not know who we 
are or what we are; we shall not know 
how to live; we shall not know what 
aim to place before us in life, because 
it is only through the gospel of Jesus 
Christ that we know the truth that 
should guide us day by day and sustain 
us through our lives and make us truly 
intelligent beings. 

Jesus Christ is the spirit of truth, the 
spirit of light; and truth and light the 
Lord has defined as being intelligence. 
If we would be truly intelligent, we 
should learn the truth concerning his 
character and mission. 

The obligations are such and our re- 
lations to him are such that it is our 
most serious duty in life to know him 
and love him and keep his command- 
ments and thereby know and love our 
Father in heaven and keep his com- 
mandments, because he is the messenger 
from the Father; he is the one chosen of 
the Father to represent him in the earth, 
chosen of the Father to be the Redeemer 
of the world, chosen of the Father to 
be the Creator of the world. Into his 
hands the Father has placed all things, 
and we are in his hands. One day we 
will stand before him to be judged, and 
we will be judged as to our relations to 
him and our attitude towards him and 
whether or not we have listened to his 
word and kept his commandments. We 
will all come to that day and to that 



accounting, and so will every man and 
woman in the world. 

It seems easy for some people to ap- 
praise Jesus Christ and put him in his 
place as no doubt a very great Teacher 
and a great Prophet, a man who lived 
a wonderful life. The "wise and the 
prudent" have a way of doing this. I 
rather think the humble and the meek 
accept him as the Redeemer of the 
world. He said: 

I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven 
and earth, because thou hast hid these 
things from the wise and prudent, and hast 
revealed them unto babes. (Matt. 11:25.) 

The Lord Jesus Christ is not on trial 
before the world. Men should under- 
stand that. The world is on trial be- 
fore the Lord Jesus Christ, and we will 
have to account for the attitude taken 
toward him and his message, and we 
cannot accept him without accepting his 
principles and his doctrines. If we re- 
ject his principles and his doctrines, we 
reject him. If we reject his divinity, we 
reject him: 

Who is a liar but he that denieth that 
Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that 
denieth the Father and the Son. 

Whosoever denieth the Son, the same 
hath not the Father: fbut] he that ac- 
knowledged the Son hath the Father also. 
(I John 2:22-23.) 

Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not 
in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. 
He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, 
he hath both the Father and the Son. 
(II John 9.) 

Another thing that the world must 
understand if they will know the truth, 
and if they will only be humble and 
true before the Lord they will be glad 
to understand it, is that those who re- 
ceive or reject the teachings and testi- 
monies and admonitions of the servants 
of God receive or reject the Lord Jesus 
Christ. He said to the seventy when he 
sent them out to preach the gospel: 

He that heareth you heareth me; and he 
that despiseth you despiseth me; and he 
that despiseth me despiseth him that sent 
me. (Luke 10:16.) 

How important to the world, that they 
understand these simple principles! If 
it were not for the traditions, the errors, 
the sins, and the shortcomings of men, 
all of the world would accept the Lord 
Jesus Christ. There is nothing but what 
{Continued on following page) 

429 



George Q. Morris 



Continued 



a true heart and a right mind would re- 
joice in. He is perfect. He is love. He 
is righteousness. He is truth, the perfec- 
tion of all things, and is devoting his 
great power and his whole being to the 
loving and saving of the children of 
men. 

Why should we not accept him with 
all our hearts? Only because of our 
shortcomings! It is not because of our 
superior knowledge and intelligence that 
we reject Jesus Christ. It is because we 
lack in superior knowledge and intelli- 
gence and humility and meekness that 
he is rejected. If we will be faithful 
and humble, as the brethren have said 
in this conference, and keep his com- 
mandments, we will know of his divin- 
ity, and it will be our salvation and our 
exaltation. 

Read the ninety-third section of the 
Doctrine and Covenants, on the matter 
of obedience. It is by keeping the com- 
mandments of God that we will gain 
in light and truth until we are filled 
with light and truth and know all things 
and become like unto our Father in 
heaven. The thing that prevents that 
is, as the revelation says, that Satan 
takes from us light and truth through 
disobedience. 

And that wicked one cometh and taketh 
away light and truth, through disobedience, 



from the children of men, and because of 
the traditions of their fathers. (D. & C. 93: 
39.) 

If you keep not my commandments, the 
love of the Father shall not continue with 
you, therefore you shall walk in darkness. 
(Ibid., 95:12.) 

Anything that we wish to attain or 
should attain to that is desirable, note- 
worthy, lovely, of good repute, that will 
be to our salvation and exaltation in 
the kingdom of God will be attained 
by the principle of obedience to the 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

I bear my humble witness that he is 
Christ, the Son of the Living God, that 
this is his Church and kingdom and 
that it is spreading throughout the earth 
and will continue to spread. In this 
conference there has been the announce- 
ment of a new era when on a world- 
wide basis the Church is to be visited 
regularly and supervised regularly, and 
we have seen plans put into effect that 
when finished will give us a line of 
temples that will encircle the globe — 
outposts of the kingdom of God. 

I bear witness that this spreading will 
continue until it covers the earth and the 
will of God will be done. Give us 
power, I pray, O Father, that we may be 
true and faithful to these ends, in the 
name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 



Indian Traditions of 



The Book of Mormon 



by Milton R. Hunter 

OF THE FIRST COUNCIL OF THE SEVENTY 



My dear brethren and sisters, I hum- 
bly ask an interest in your faith 
and prayers and that the Spirit of 
God may direct what I may say today. 
I would like to speak briefly on the 
subject of "Indian Traditions of the 
Book of Mormon." 

Since the publishing of that sacred 
scripture on March 26, 1830, a number 
of missionaries have been informed by 
various Indians that according to their 
traditions their progenitors in the dis- 
tant past had possessed a sacred, re- 
ligious book, which volume had disap- 
peared; and a prominent factor in those 
traditions is the claim that that sacred 
record would be possessed again by the 
American Indians. On a number of oc- 
casions these people have identified the 
Book of Mormon as the record of their 
ancestors for which, in accordance with 
their traditions, they had been waiting 
and seeking. 

Elder Glen G. Fisher, former presi- 
dent of the Western Canadian Mission, 

430 



wrote an article which was published in 
The Improvement Era in March 1952, 
in which he graphically described the 
experiences had in 1908 by Chief Yel- 
low Face and his Cree Indians in their 
search for the sacred book of their an- 
cestors. 1 They came from northern 
Canada to southern Alberta, camped on 
the Mormon ranch, and during several 
months' time patiently waited for an 
opportunity to get a copy of the Book 
of Mormon and be taught its contents, 
because they knew that this book was 
the record of their ancestors. After they 
had learned of the purpose of the so- 
journ of Chief Yellow Face and mem- 
bers of his tribe, some of the Latter- 
day Saints who worked on the Mormon 
ranch spent evening after evening teach- 
ing the Indians the contents of the Book 
of Mormon. The Indian chief and his 
followers expressed much joy and deep 



'Glen G. Fisher, "Chief Yellow Face," The Im- 
provement Era, (Salt Lake City, March 1952), pp. 
148-150, 180-184. 



satisfaction regarding what they were 
taught, declaring that the Book of Mor- 
mon was truly the sacred record of their 
ancestors which had been preserved for 
their enlightenment. 

In the April issue of The Improve- 
ment Era, Elder Golden R. Buchanan, 
president of the Southwest Indian Mis- 
sion, described some of the traditions 
of the Indians with whom he has been 
working. He wrote: "The people lost 
their records and their 'books.' ' But as 
the Hopis say, 

We were not left without hope; we were 
told some day young white men with blue 
eyes would come knocking at Hopi doors 
and would bring back to us our records and 
our true story. They would come from the 
east and that we would know them by their 
outstretched hands, and they would call us 
"my brother" and "my sister." 2 

There may be people who would 
question the validity of the evidences 
in the examples I have given of Indian 
traditions of the Book of Mormon, main- 
taining that these evidences have all 
come forth since the publishing of that 
book and may have been instigated by 
it or by the Mormon missionaries. Be 
that as it may! 

The important question for our con- 
sideration, however, is: Are there any 
important documents available which 
were written by the Indians prior to the 
publishing of the Book of Mormon 
which furnish evidence that these peo- 
ple had traditions which came down 
from their ancestors to the effect that 
their progenitors at a certain time in the 
distant past had possessed an important, 
sacred, religious book, which book could 
be identified as the Book of Mormon? 

I shall answer that question in the 
affirmative. Yes, we do have some very 
important documents which were writ- 
ten between two and three hundred 
years prior to the publishing of the 
Book of Mormon which make the claim 
that many years ago the ancestors of 
the American Indians possessed an im- 
portant, sacred book. These writings 
are so explicit that one could easily be- 
lieve that the ancient records spoken of 
by the Indian writers are the same rec- 
ords as the ones from which the Book 
of Mormon was translated by the 
Prophet. 

The first of these Indian writings of 
great significance which shall be re- 
ferred to is the Works of Ixtlilxochitl, 
written by an Indian of the royal family 
in Mexico approximately 1600 A.D. In 
these writings he accounts the history, 
traditions, and religious beliefs of his 
people from the time of the migration of 
the first group from the Tower of Babel 
— continuing with the emigrations from 
over the sea of two other groups — and 
on down to the Spanish conquest. 

The most pertinent portion of his 
book in relationship to our subject today 
deals with a very important character 
called Hueman. He and his work are 
described at great length in several dif- 
ferent places in the Works of Ixtlilxo- 
chitl, his unusual accomplishments 
being highly extolled. If one was to 
study thoughtfully Ixtlilxochitl's account 

2 Golden R. Buchanan, "Indian Traditions," ibid., 
(Salt Lake City, April 1955), p. 285. 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



of Hueman and compare it with the 
portrayal of the character, personality, 
activities, and various accomplishments 
of Mormon as described in the Nephite 
record, one could easily identify the two 
men as being the same individual. 3 For 
example, their names are quite similar- — 
the one in the Indian manuscript being 
called Hueman and the other in the 
Nephite account being called Mormon. 
Each is claimed to have been a great 
prophet of God. Each is claimed to 
have been the head general of the 
army. 4 Each is claimed to have been 
instrumental in bringing about a treaty 
of peace in 350 A.D., which treaty is 
claimed to have lasted for ten years. 5 
And the last comparison which I shall 
make, and probably the most pertinent 
one to our subject today is: Each is 
claimed to have been the compiler of 
a very important religious record which 
delineated the religious beliefs and his- 
tory of the inhabitants of ancient 
America. 6 

Since each of us is more or less ac- 
quainted with the account given in 
the Nephite record of Mormon's activi- 
ties, under the direction of the Lord, in 
taking a thousand years accumulation 
of records and from them compiling and 
abridging in one book the story of his 
people, which momentous task was com- 
pleted by his son Moroni and brought 
forth in the latter days under the title 
of the Book of Mormon, I shall not 
spend time to discuss that point further. 
I would like, however, to quote directly 
from the Works of Ixtlilxochitl wherein 
he described Hueman as a collector and 
compiler of the sacred records of his 
people. While meditating on this par- 
ticular quotation, the thought came to 
me that upon reading this quotation 
one could easily imagine that he was 
reading the Nephite account of Mor- 
mon's activities as a writer and keeper 
of records. To quote from the sixteenth 
century Indian document: 

And before going on I want to make an 
account of Hueman, the astrologer. . . . Be- 
fore dying he gathered together all the his- 
tories the Tultecas had, from the creation 
of the world up to that [his] time, and 
had them pictured in a very large book, 
where were pictured all their persecutions 
and hardships, prosperities and good hap- 
penings, kings and lords, laws and good 
government of their ancestors, old sayings 
and good examples, temples, idols, sacri- 
fices, rites and ceremonies that they had, 
astrology, philosophy, architecture, and the 
other arts, good as well as bad, and a resu- 
me of all the things of science, knowledge, 
prosperous and adverse battles, and many 
other things; and he entitled his book call- 
ing it Teoamaxtli, which, well interpreted 
means Various Things of God and Divine 
Book: The natives now call the Holy Scrip- 
tures [meaning the Bible] Teoamoxtli, be- 
cause it is almost the same, . . . 7 

This marvelous quotation describing 
the activities of Hueman in writing or 
compiling a very important book is so 



similar to the Nephites' account of 
Mormon's activities that such a quota- 
tion constitutes a noteworthy Book of 
Mormon evidence. 

The second example which I shall 
give of an early Indian document which 
contains numerous, marvelous evidences 
sustaining the claims made by the Book 
of Mormon is known today as the Popol 
Vuh. 8 The original manuscript was 
written in the Quiche language by a 
Quiche-Maya Indian in faraway Guate- 
mala, Central America, nearly three 
hundred years before the Prophet Joseph 
Smith published the account translated 
from the Nephites' records. Between 
the years 1554 and 1558 A.D., an In- 
dian at Chichicastenango, Guatemala, 
wrote what has become accepted by 
scholars as a very important and un- 
usual document in which he delineated 
the mythology, beliefs, and traditions of 
his people. !) The Quiche-Maya Indian 
author claimed that there was a preva- 
lent tradition among his people that his 
ancestors in the distant past had at one 
time possessed an important, religious, 
sacred book which had disappeared, 
being had no more by his people, and 
so he wrote his manuscript to replace 
that lost book. 

Father Francisco Ximenez, a Catholic 
priest who officiated in the St. Tomas 
church at Chichicastenango, obtained 
the manuscript from the Quiche-Maya 
Indians approximately 1600 A.D. No 
doubt he had won their good will and 
thereby was able to borrow this manu- 
script for the purpose of translating it 
from Quiche into the Spanish language. 
After his work was completed, Father 
Ximenez's translation of the Indian 
document remained in manuscript form 
for approximately two hundred fifty 
years before it was discovered and pub- 
lished in the Spanish language. Since 
that time it has appeared in several 
Spanish editions, as well as in French 
and German. It was not until five 
years ago (1950), however, that it was 
translated and published for the first 
time in English, the translation being 
made by Delia Goetz and the famous 
Mayan scholar, Sylvanus G. Morley. 

When the Quiche-Maya manuscript 
was first written, it had no title. The 
Indian writer claimed that the lost 
Quiche book was called the Popol Vuh, 
and so it was natural for the publisher 
of this sixteenth century document to 
call it the Popol Vuh after the name of 
the lost Quiche-Maya book. The mean- 
ing of Popol Vuh, according to the six- 
teenth century document, is The Book 
of the People, or The Book of the 
Princes, or The Book of the Community. 
It seems that those titles, according to 
the content of the Book of Mormon, 
would also be very fitting for the Ne- 
phite records. 

I shall now quote directly from the 
Popol Vuh and let each one evaluate in 
his mind the possibility of this record 
referring to the Book of Mormon records 



3 Works of Ixtlilxochitl, cited in, Milton R. Hunter 
and Thomas Stuart Ferguson, Ancient America and 
the Book of Mormon (Oakland, California, 1950), pp. 
337-346. 

'■Ibid., pp. 342-354. 

*>Ibid., pp. 349-370. 

*Ibid., pp. 337-338, 341-342. 

'•Ibid., pp. 337-338. 

JUNE 1955 



H Popol Vuh, The Sacred Book of the Ancient 
Quiche-Maya, (Eng. tr. by Delia Goetz and Sylvanus 
G. Morley, Norman, Oklahoma, 1950), pp. 1-767. 

To quote the late Dr. Morley: "This manuscript 
is, without doubt, the most vigorous, literary, and 
significant effort achieved by the American Indian in 
the field of mythology and history." Ibid., p. 75. 



as they were when possessed by the peo- 
ple of ancient America: 

This we shall write now under the Law 
of God and Christianity; we shall bring it 
to life because now the Popol Vuh, as it 
was called, cannot be seen any more, in 
which was clearly seen the coming from 
the other side of the sea and the narration 
of our obscurity, and our life was clearly 
seen. The original book written long ago, 
existed, but its sight is hidden to the search- 
er and to the thinker. Great were the de- 
scriptions and the account of how all the 
sky and the earth were formed, . . . 10 

In speaking of the original Popol Vuh 
which the ancestors of the Quiche-Maya 
Indians had possessed in the distant past, 
the late Dr. Sylvanus G. Morley, pos- 
sibly the greatest of the Mayan scholars, 
wrote as follows: 

The Popol Vuh was also the book of 
prophecy and the oracle of the kings and 
lords, [Certainly that is exactly what the 
Book of Mormon was. Then he continues:] 
according to a reference which the author 
of the Manuscript makes in another pass- 
age, where he states that [Morley quoting 
directly from the sixteenth century docu- 
ment] "Great lords and wonderful men 
were the marvelous kings. . . . They knew 
if there would be war, and everything was 
clear before their eyes; they saw if there 
would be death and hunger, if there would 
be strife. They well knew that there was a 
place where it could be seen, that there was 
a book which they called the Popol Vuh. ,,:n 

This quotation reminds one of King 
Mosiah and King Benjamin, great 
Nephite prophets, seers, and revel ators. 

The late Dr. Morley adds the follow- 
ing interesting comment: 

And in the final paragraph, the Quiche 
chronicler adds with a melancholic accent 
that what he has said in his works is all 
that has been preserved of the ancient 
Quiche, "because no longer can be seen (the 
book of the Popol Vuh) which the kings 
had in olden times, f6r it had disappeared." 12 

Since the time that Father Francisco 
Ximenez translated the sixteenth cen- 
tury Popol Vuh from Quiche into Span- 
ish, scholars have done much speculat- 
ing regarding this lost Indian book. 
They have made guesses regarding its 
authorship, the language in which it 
was written, the writing materials used, 
its probable contents, and numerous 
other things. For example, as early as 
1600 A.D. Father Ximenez wrote: 

The truth is that such a book never ap- 
peared nor has been seen, and thus it is 
not known if this way of writing was by 
painting, as those of Mexico, or by knot- 
ting string as the Peruvians; you may be- 
lieve that it was by painting on woven 
white cloth. 13 

Probably one of the most intriguing 
subjects regarding the lost book of the 
Quiche-Maya on which scholars have 
speculated is: "What has become of the 
original Popol Vuh?" Of course none 
of them has known the answer to that 
question any more than they have 
known the answers to the other ques- 
(Continued on following page) 

™Ibid., pp. 79-80. 

nibid., pp. 19, 225. 

^Ibid., pp. 19, 234-235. 

™Ibid., p. 18. 

431 



Milton R. Hunter 



Continued 



tions on this subject on which they 
have speculated. It is my firm opinion 
that we as members of the Church of 
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have a 
far better chance to know the answers 
to such questions than do the scholars, 
because of the restoration of the gospel 
of Jesus Christ, the numerous appear- 
ances of the Angel Moroni, and the 
coming forth of the Book of Mormon. 

Since I firmly believe that the 
Quiche-Maya Indians of Guatemala are 
descendants of the Book of Mormon 
peoples of ancient America, as I be- 
lieve also that other Indians trace back 
to the same ancestry, it is but natural 
for me to regard the lost Quiche-Maya 
Popol Vuh, which disappeared from 
among the ancestors of the Quiches 
many, many years ago, to be the Book 
of Mormon records. It is evident that 
they were lost or disappeared when 
Moroni, the last historian of the Nephite 
race, hid them in the Hill Cumorah in 
421 A.D. A knowledge of the activities 
of the compilers of the ancient records, 
their contents, and finally their sudden 
disappearance was carried down from 
age to age by the Indians through tra- 
dition to the sixteenth century, when at 
that time a Quiche-Mayan recorded the 
traditions of his people, according to the 
late Dr. Morley, 

... as a substitute for the Libro Natio- 
nal [original Popol Vuh or lost book from 
which "the kings used to read" 14 ], as a re- 
vision and a new version of the accounts 
which had been preserved in the venerable 
book which had already disappeared. 15 

In our present discussion, I have pur- 
posely presented Indian traditions of 
the Book of Mormon from four widely 
separated sections of the country: the 
first from Canada; the second from Ari- 
zona; the third from Mexico; and the 
fourth from Guatemala. My purpose 
was to show that traditions prevailed 
somewhat universally among the various 
American Indian tribes to the effect that 
their ancestors in the distant past had 
possessed an important, sacred, religious 
book, which volume had disappeared, 
but, according to many of the tradi- 
tions, would be mysteriously preserved 
and eventually brought again to the 
descendants of the inhabitants of an- 
cient America. It is obvious that these 
traditions fit well with what has actually 
happened in regard to the Book of Mor- 
mon. 

Why should not the Indians have re- 
ceived through tradition the knowledge 
of the fact that their progenitors in an- 
cient America had had a sacred book 
written for them, since evidence is 
abundant in the Book of Mormon which 
shows clearly that the Lamanites were 
well aware of the fact that their rivals 
were record keepers and that the proph- 
ets had predicted the eventual destruc- 
tion of the Nephite nation and the 
preservation of the records for the 
Lamanites' descendants? For example, 



Enos, the son of Jacob and a record 
keeper, knowing that the Lamanites had 

. . . swore in their wrath that, if it were 
possible, they would destroy our [the Ne- 
phites'] records and us, and also all the 
traditions of our fathers, [praying dili- 
gently, asking] . . . that the Lord God 
would preserve a record of my people, the 
Nephites . . . that it might be brought forth 
at some future day unto the Lamanites . . . 

. . . and he covenanted with me that he 
would bring them [the records] forth unto 
the Lamanites in his own due time . . . 

And the Lord said unto me: Thy fathers 
have also required of me this thing; and 
it shall be done unto them according to 
their faith; . . . 

... I Enos went about among the peo- 
ple of Nephi, . . . testifying of the things 
I had heard and seen. 16 

The latter two historians of the Ne- 
phite nation, like the prophets during the 
early period, had firm convictions that 
the records would be preserved and 
brought forth in the latter days to the 
descendants of the Lamanites. Shortly 
before his death, Mormon recorded in 
the records a sermon to the descendants 
of the Lamanites in which he said: 

... I would speak somewhat unto the 
remnant of this people who are spared, . . . 
For behold, this is written for the intent 
that ye . . . will know concerning your 
fathers, and also the marvelous works which 
were wrought by the power of God among 
them. 17 

Following Mormon's death and after 



10 Enos 13-19. 
17 Mormon 7:1, 9. 



Moroni had completed the abridgment 
of the Jaredite records, he wrote: 

Wherefore, I write a few more things 
contrary to that which I had supposed; . . . 
that perhaps they may be of worth to my 
brethren, the Lamanites, in some future 
day, according to the will of the Lord. 18 

I bear witness that the Book of Mor- 
mon contains the word of God and that 
it was written originally by holy proph- 
ets with the knowledge that it would be 
preserved to be brought forth in the latter 
days for the benefit of the descendants 
of the Lamanites — the American In- 
dians. In fact, one of the declared pur- 
poses of writing and preserving that 
sacred book is proclaimed in its preface, 
which declares that it was ". . . written 
to the Lamanites." 

Since the knowledge of all the things 
of which I have spoken was so widely 
had by the Nephites, it is my firm con- 
viction that the Lamanites were also 
fully aware of the records and the prom- 
ises contained therein to their posterity. 
Following the close of Nephite history, 
certainly the Lamanites and their In- 
dian descendants would hand such 
knowledge down from age to age by tra- 
dition to the present time, which has 
actually happened; and so it is easily 
understandable wby the Indians who 
live in various parts of the Americas 
have similar traditions of the Book of 
Mormon. These Indian traditions, to 
my way of thinking, provide important 
evidences sustaining the claims made by 
the Nephite writers — thereby constitut- 
ing additional important Book of Mor- 
mon evidences. 

I bear witness to these things, and I 
do so in the name of Jesus Christ. 
Amen. 



18 Moroni 1:4. 



Wednesday Afternoon Session, April 6, 1955 

"Men Are, That They 
Might Have Joy" 



by Adam S. Bennion 

OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 



^Ibid., p. 61. 
Wbid., p. 20. 

432 



For myself and for all of you, I ex- 
press gratitude to these Singing Moth- 
ers. I am grateful that the loveliness 
of their lullabies has been sublimated 
into the holiness of their hymns under 
the inspirational leadership of Sister 
[Florence Jepperson] Madsen. 

Those of us who sit here this after- 
noon, still subject to our turn, know 
that this is the hour. It reminds me of 
the time when we used to play musical 



chairs. You remember when we gath- 
ered in a circle around the chairs and 
the host took a chair out each time 
around, so that there was one chair 
fewer than people. We knew when we 
got down to the last three or four chairs 
that that was it. Well, the chairs have 
all been taken out but three! 

Brother Richard Evans and I have 

been sitting here together for three days, 

observing to each other that there is 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



strength in this audience — strong men 
and remarkable women. 

It is intriguing to me to know that in 
a hundred and a quarter years six mem- 
bers have grown into a million and a 
quarter people. That is a wonderful 
achievement in the Lord's work. 

I am doubly grateful to be here today 
because last October I missed this con- 
ference. Recently out of the hospital, 
I was convalescing at home. But that 
experience has brought me something 
that perhaps I could have had in no 
other way. I stand here today grateful 
for the blessings of our Father in heaven 
and his goodness. I bring you my wit- 
ness to the power of the priesthood, be- 
cause under the hands of these my good 
brethren, I have been blessed back to 
health and strength. I know the power 
of healing is in this priesthood, and I 
give you my witness that it is. 

This has been a wonderful conference. 
I have sat here much of the time with 
a lump in my throat. I am honored to 
be here. I rejoice in the power of the 
leadership of this First Presidency. They 
are among the strongest men ever to 
guide the destinies of this Church. I 
pay my tribute to my brethren. It is a 
sustaining force to have every one of 
them give us his blessing for this expe- 
rience. These are strong men, as you 
know from the evidence of this confer- 
ence. They are devoted men, and in 
their hands you can feel good about the 
future of this great Church. 

I pray that the few minutes I occupy 
I may be in tune with the Spirit, the 
uplifting Spirit, that we have felt all 
the way through this conference. 

I am always concerned about the 
carry-over effect of our teachings. The 
gospel, in the language of Paul, is the 
power of God unto salvation, and these 
conferences and all of our meetings and 
the very genius of the gospel itself are 
meant to help us the better to live. 

Each week we go out to some stake 
or to some mission. Each Monday 
morning I come back lifted up and built 
up not only in my faith but also in the 
assurance of the goodness of the people 
among whom we labor. I bear you 
witness that the evidence we get week 
after week is that the gospel makes better 
men and women; it transforms their 
lives; and I want to hint from two of 
our conferences some of the things that 
shall never leave me the same again. 

When I was introduced to the home 
at which I was to stay in Klamath 
[Oregon-California] Stake, I felt a lit- 
tle embarrassed because the hostess, the 
wife of a member of the stake presi- 
dency, was in a wheel chair, crippled 
from the effects of polio for twenty 
years. But the look in her face con- 
vinced me that I need have no mis- 
givings. She wheels around in that 
wheel chair, thanks to the kindliness of 
a good husband, as if the house had 
been built just for her. She wheels out 
into the kitchen between the range and 
serving table where she prepares the 
food, makes a turn, and has it ready for 
distribution. She teaches a Sunday 
School class, is a leader in Relief So- 
ciety, and if you ever shook hands with 
JUNE 1955 



that little woman and caught the look 
in her face, you would know that, 
while an affliction can cripple the body, 
it never can handicap such a spirit. 

A few weeks later I went down to 
Zion Park [Utah] Stake. I shall be 
grateful all the rest of my days for the 
inspiration of that visit. In one family 
there I think I saw as much affliction as 
I have ever seen in any other one fam- 
ily. But those good people have risen 
above it so wonderfully. The president 
of the stake down there served in the 
war, and it is almost a miracle that he 
came back alive. He wears a steel plate 
now, a cranial plate, with the index 
across the forehead that it is there. His 
wife, stricken arthritically, with feet she 
could hardly walk upon until they were 
all broken anew and made over, and 
her hands so gnarled and twisted that 
as you reach to shake her hand, you 
wish you could give her a blessing. Two 
fine boys born into the family and then 
the third child, a little girl, under the 
complications of Rh-negative, invalided 
through eight years. I want to tell you 
that when you walk into that home and 
catch the spirit of the father and the 
mother and you watch the boys rush 
over to help the little child who, when 
she falls, cannot get up, when you kneel 
in the home and you listen to the prayers 
of that family, with their gratitude to 
Almighty God for the kindness he has 
shown to them, you know that the gos- 
pel is the power of God unto salvation. 

Well, in the light of those two expe- 
riences I should like to join with you 
for just a little while this afternoon in 
consideration of one of the richest 
declarations ever made. I love the Book 
of Mormon and have done so ever since 
I was a youngster. For this afternoon I 
have chosen from the second book of 
Nephi the passage that I want to de- 
velop just a little with you: 

And now, behold, if Adam had not trans- 
gressed he would not have fallen, but he 
would have remained in the garden of 
Eden. And all things which were created 
must have remained in the same state in 
which they were after they were created; 
and they must have remained forever, and 
had no end. 

And they would have had no children; 
wherefore they would have remained in a 
state of innocence, having no joy, for they 
knew no misery; doing no good, for they 
knew no sin. 

But behold, all things have been done 
in the wisdom of him who knoweth all 
things. 

And now for my theme: 

Adam fell that men might be; and men 
are, that they might have joy. (2 Nephi 2: 
22-25.) 

That same sentiment is echoed in one 
of the greatest documents ever given to 
mankind, the Beatitudes in the Sermon 
on the Mount. You remember that 
every paragraph in that great document 
begins with a blessing. "Blessed are the 
poor in spirit," and so on through all of 
them. In the concluding paragraph of 
that great document, "Blessed are ye, 
when men shall revile you, and perse- 
cute you, and shall say all manner . . ." 
— you remember it. 



Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great 
is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted 
they the prophets which were before you. 
(Matt. 5:11-12.) 

I think sometimes we let the nega- 
tive aspects, the disciplinary aspects, the 
prohibitive aspects crowd out the teach- 
ing of the joys of the gospel. I wish we 
might center our thinking a little while 
today in the joys of living the gospel, 
not as an obligation but as a privilege — 
one of the richest privileges in life. 

Did we have time this afternoon I 
should like to expand on the meaning 
of joy. In ordinary language we talk 
as if joy, pleasure, gladness, and happi- 
ness were all synonymous. But in this 
passage from the Book of Mormon joy 
has a far richer meaning. Pleasure, in 
my mind, is essentially a gratification 
of one of the senses. Happiness seems 
to center in a kind of contentment born 
of good fortune or of some fortuitous 
circumstance. But joy reveals a certain 
spiritual exaltation. 

As someone has said: "Joy is more in- 
tense than happiness, deeper than glad- 
ness, to which it is akin, nobler and 
more enduring than pleasure." As I 
have been thinking about it, joy seems 
to me to be essentially spiritual and has 
an abiding quality with a hint of eternal 
bliss. 

How may we aspire to this thing 
called the joy of living? We cannot buy 
it; it is not for sale in the market place, 
nor can you go out to cultivate it di- 
rectly. At best it seems to be a sort of 
by-product. It is an end result achieved 
from worthy performance. 

I come to you today with three sugges- 
tions that I think make for joy: 

I. In the first place, we can find it in 
the work of the world. There has been 
a tendency, perhaps all too strong, re- 
cently, to coddle the children we love. 
In our own state legislature in an at- 
tempt to protect children, we could 
easily do them a great disservice. I no- 
tice this morning that our governor in- 
dicates that he would be willing to call 
the legislature back into session to cor- 
rect the mistake because there is no 
great wisdom in putting a premium up- 
on idleness, either for children or for 
men. 

You remember what the Lord has 
said: "In the sweat of thy face shalt 
thou eat bread." (Gen. 3:19.) And 
there is this wonderful passage in John. 
When the Savior was criticized for some- 
thing he did on the Sabbath, he an- 
swered his accusers by saying, "My 
Father worketh hitherto, and I work." 
(John 5:17.) 

And then that memorable passage 
from Ecclesiastes: 

"The sleep of a labouring man is 
sweet, whether he eat little or much: (I 
am glad I have not been rich — because 
this next line says) . . . but the abun- 
dance of the rich will not suffer him to 
sleep." (Ecclesiastes 5:12.) 

All my life I have enjoyed the blessed 
privilege of living with people who love 
to work. I rejoice in a helpmate who 
delights in keeping up our home. Born 

(Continued on following page) 

433 



Adam S. Bennion continued 



in a country town out in this valley, I 
still thrill as I think of the work of two 
men, Robert and Willard Pixton, who 
were pioneers in my town. They 
prided themselves that there was never 
a weed in the potato patch. They se- 
lected their grain, and when it rolled 
into the fall harvest, it was beautiful. 
Those men worked as if they loved to 
work, and when fall came, after they 
had plowed and planted and cultivated 
and irrigated and harvested — with the 
barns full of hay and the granaries rich 
in grain — and the cellars bulging with 
fruits and vegetables — I am just sure 
that Robert and Willard Pixton gath- 
ered the family together in a thanks- 
giving that was full of joy — joy for the 
blessings of heaven. 

I have always been glad that I lived 
in a humble home — a home in which 
people loved to work. I can recall the 
thrill of the days when we brought in 
the new straw and put it under the rag 
carpet that had been woven from the 
rags which mother used to cut and wind 
into balls to be taken over to be made 
into a carpet. How we used to love to 
"tromp" the straw to get it down so 
that the carpet could be stretched over 
it; and then we would attach the 
stretcher and "stomp" some more and . 
pull and push and then tack the carpet 
down. Those were great days. No man 
ever relaxed more luxuriously on a 
Persian rug. 

I remember when the pig was killed 
in the fall, and the hams were put 
down in brine, and the sausage was 
made, not of the discarded parts but of 
the selected parts. I have always 
thought that eating was in the realm of 
pleasure — but I want to tell you that 
some meals get pretty close to joy. 

For years I kept in touch with one of 
the finest writers in America, who wrote 
this little paragraph awhile back in a 
Chicago paper: 

When a young man finds no joy in his 
daily work, goes to it in the morning with 
regret, has no feeling of thankfulness that 
he has work to do, and dislikes the hours 
in which he does it, there is something • 
wrong. It is a cheering thing to have the 
habit of industry, the desire to do each 
day's work better than that of the day 
before, and to leave it conscious of having 
done it well. There is a sad future for the 
young man who hates work, who dislikes 
his employer and gives as little of effort as 
he can get by with. He will suffer more 
from the shirking than his employer, be- 
cause he is destroying his own chance for 
joy in his life. 

Someone has said, "Happy is the man 
who has work he loves to do," but some- 
body else has added the basic funda- 
mental thought, "Happy is the man who 
loves the work he has to do." 

II. Well, we can find joy in a second 
place. It is in the life of the home, 
which has been spoken of here so beau- 
tifully throughout this conference, be- 
ginning with that inspirational mes- 
sage from our President. 

I am mindful of the struggle we have 
to go through to get a home, and then 

434 



the pride we feel as we come into it, 
and then the joy of children as they 
come to bless it. I still think that the 
birth of a baby surpasses the greatest 
miracle ever wrought. The joy in the 
coming of the children, their develop- 
ment, their questions, their affection, 
their frank disclosures, the privilege we 
have of living life over again, and then 
when we get to the stage of grand- 
children, where we have all the joys 
and not quite the full responsibilities, 
when, after they have worn us or our 
nerves a little threadbare, we can suggest, 
that for the children's sake, maybe they 
ought to be in bed. These are great 
blessings and great sources of joy. 

Let me give you a homely illustra- 
tion of the difference between a joyous 
family and an agitated one. Some peo- 
ple make their lives center in "don'ts" 
and "mustn'ts" and "can'ts." I often 
think of the mother who used to say, 
"Go and see what Billy is doing and 
tell him to quit." That kind of parent 
gets into the car and proceeds to tell 
her children what they cannot do and 
orders them to be quiet. The wise par- 
ent, who has found the joy in the asso- 
ciation of the children, says, "Let's see 
how many white horses we can see in 
the next hundred miles." Perhaps we 
shall have to change the white horses 
to red tractors. It is an interesting game 
to trace the alphabet on the billboards 
along the way — good fun to try to work 
out a complete alphabet. It is fun to 
find the best signboard along the way 
or, if you want to, and lean a little to 
the intellectual side, you can get one 
of the children's best current books — not 
the cheap ones that Brother Dilworth 
[Young] talked about this morning — 
but one of those beautifully illustrated 
books now available, and you can sit 
in the back seat (if you have the right 
kind of driver) and fill in the time that 
otherwise might drag. That is joy in 
the making. 

In the home, too, there is the joy of 
a few good friends — not too many — be- 
cause you cannot cultivate them — but 
a few of the friends who will stand by 
you in all that comes in life. We have 
such friends — God be praised for them. 

In the language of Shakespeare, 
"Those friends thou hast, and their 
adoption tried, grapple them to thy soul 
with hoops of steel." 

III. I hurry into the third suggestion 
that I want to give you. We find joy 
in the work we do. We find joy in the 
privileges of the home with its children 
and its friends, but in the third place, 
and finally, we find joy in the service of 
the Lord. 

I read the other night again from 
Habakkuk, a book which we do not turn 
to often enough: 

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, 
neither shall fruit be in the vines; the 
labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields 
shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut 
off from the fold, and there shall be no 
herd in the stalls: 

And then this ringing line: 



Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, / will joy 
in the God of my salvation. (Hab. 3:17-18. 
Italics added.) 

Yesterday, all day long, we had the 
privilege of sitting in an inspirational 
meeting with these good mission presi- 
dents. I could wish in some magical 
way their messages might be brought to 
all of you because it was a day of dedi- 
cation and consecration. I bless them 
for the work they are doing. 

In the spirit of that wonderful meet- 
ing of yesterday, I bid you to find the 
joy of life in service of the Lord 
whether it is a call to be a ward teacher, 
a call to be a Sunday School teacher, 
an MIA leader, a quorum officer, or a 
call to visit those who are a little dis- 
inclined or indifferent or bound down 
by some unfortunate habit. The prom- 
ise of the Lord is so rich in its blessing: 

And if it so be that you should labor all 
your days in crying repentance unto this 
people, and bring, save it be one soul unto 
me, how great shall be your joy with him 
in the kingdom of my Father! 

And now, if your joy will be great with 
one soul that you have brought unto me 
into the kingdom of my Father, how great 
will be your joy if you should bring many 
souls unto me. (D. & C. 18:15-16.) 

Your joy is akin to the joy of heaven, 
for as the Master declared: 

Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in 
the presence of the angels of God over one 
sinner that repenteth. (Luke 15:10.) 

When you have felt the power of his 
Holy Spirit, when you have been in- 
spired to meet your perplexing prob- 
lems, when you have had the privilege 
of comforting the brokenhearted, when 
you have led an erring one into the sun- 
light of a new day, when you have 
achieved the goal of your dreams, when 
you have done these things, you enjoy 
this promise that was given to the 
laborers in the vineyard years ago: 

And whoso receiveth you, there will I be 
also, for I will go before your face. I will 
be on your right hand and on your left, 
and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and 
mine angels round about you, to bear you up. 
(D. & C. 84:88. Italics added.) 

Add to that promise the glorious one 
already quoted in this conference by 
President Richards: 

Let thy bowels also be full of charity to- 
wards all men, and to the household of faith, 
and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceas- 
ingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong 
in the presence of God; and the doctrine of 
the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as 
the dews from heaven. 

The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant com- 
panion, and thy scepter an unchanging scep- 
ter of righteousness and truth; and thy do- 
minion shall be an everlasting dominion, and 
without compulsory means it shall flow unto 
thee forever and ever. (Ibid., 121:45-46.) 

I give you my witness, my good breth- 
ren and sisters, that in the service of 
the Lord comes the supreme joy of life. 
And when you have coupled it with the 
nobility of work and the satisfaction of 
having friends and children about you, 
God can bless you, and he will. May 
he do so abundantly, I pray in the name 
of Jesus Christ. Amen. 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



Unity in the Home 



by Richard L. Evans 

OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 



I cherish the privilege of sitting by 
Brother Adam S. Bennion, but not 
that of following him as a speaker. 
He makes this task doubly difficult. 

What I should least like to do today 
would be to detract in any way from the 
glorious quality and content and spirit 
of the messages which we have heard 
here these past four or five days — begin- 
ning with President McKay's message 
of Sunday morning on peace in the 
world and the influence of the home; 
going back before that to President 
Richards' remarks in the priesthood 
meeting on Saturday evening, as con- 
cerning the counsel that we should not 
overextend ourselves in debt (which re- 
minded me of the counsel given to 
Joseph Smith not to run faster nor 
labor more than we have strength and 
means) ; then the glorious talks — two of 
them — by President J. Reuben Clark on 
fundamentals, including the counsel to 
keep all of the commandments; and 
President Smith's remarks at the mis- 
sionary meeting, reminding us of our 
inescapable obligations to bear witness 
to the world. 

And so we have been edified and en- 
couraged and strengthened by the mes- 
sages of all the brethren, on the home, 
on the teaching of children, on the 
example we must set before them, on 
the divinity of our Savior, Jesus the 
Christ, on the glorious reality and divine 
calling of Joseph the Prophet, of the 
reality of the appearance to him of the 
Father and the Son. Right down to the 
present, to the immediately previous 
talk, it has been a glorious, inspiring, 
and solid and satisfying general con- 
ference. 

I think at this point we could well 
ask the question, or questions: What is 
the ultimate meaning and purpose of 
these conferences; what is the real 
meaning of this miscellany of messages 
(or seeming miscellany to those who 
are not quite aware of the wholeness 
of the gospel)? Why do all this? Why 
come together? Why so exert ourselves 
and so concern ourselves? Why not just 
relax and be comfortable and com- 
placent? Why is it all important? I 
suppose we are busier, per capita, than 
any other people that I know of, and if 
there were not some great far-reaching, 
basic importance to all this effort we 
go to, and all this gathering we do, all 
this activity, and all this instructing and 
edifying of one another, it would save 
us a lot of time and trouble if we knew 
that it were not important. 
JUNE 1955 



These things would not be so im- 
portant except for the reality of ever- 
lasting life, but the most meaningful 
things in life are everlasting, and what 
we do is important because we are 
everlasting — 

For whosoever will save his life shall lose 
it, and whosoever will lose his life for my 
sake shall find it. (Matt. 16:25.) 

Now Brother Bennion has already 
pursued a theme that I might have pur- 
sued; and some comments that I might 
have made on happiness he has tran- 
scended with his on joy. But the mean- 
ing of all this that we do, and the rea- 
son for all of it, is because men are 
immortal; because the object of life is 
happiness, peace, eternal life, and ever- 
lasting progress; and these are sufficient 
indeed to justify all we do, and much 
more. 

I should like to read into the record, 
in witness of the truth of this statement, 
a sentence from Joseph Smith concern- 
ing the aim and object of life: 

Happiness is the object and design of our 
existence; and will be the end thereof, if 
we pursue the path that leads to it; and 
this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, 
holiness, and keeping all the commandments 
of God. {Teachings of the Prophet Joseph 
Smith, pp. 255-256.) 

Brother Bennion has ably brought be- 
fore us some of the things that have 
in them the makings of joy and of hap- 
piness. There is a long list of other 
things. We could extend ourselves into 
the recital of them for a long time to 
come; among them: obedience; freedom, 
freedom to think, a kind of freedom in 
which we keep ourselves from the en- 
slavement of habits that are detrimental 
to happiness; an open mind to truth; 
love; a sense of belonging; a conviction 
of purpose, purpose in time and in eter- 
nity; cleanliness; the peace that comes 
with a quiet conscience; patience; re- 
pentance — these are all indispensable 
elements of happiness. 

Another I have not named is family 
unity. Not many days ago my lovely 
wife, the mother of our four sons, and 
I, with our sons, were all together — the 
six of us — in a car going to the same 
place with a common purpose and a 
common destination in mind; and 
sharply the thought came to me, how 
much less it would mean if we were 



not together, and if we were divided in 
our objectives; if their mother were'try- 
ing to tell them to go one place or to 
believe one thing, and I were trying to 
tell them to go another place or to be- 
lieve another thing; if she were setting 
before them a certain set of ideals or 
objectives, and I were setting before 
them a different set of ideals and objec- 
tives. This would not be fair to a home. 
It would not be fair to children. It 
would not be fair to the future. 

One of the greatest elements of joy 
and peace and effectiveness in life is 
the unity of parents in a home; and 
with my young friends who are con- 
templating entering into this most im- 
portant of all relationships, that of mar- 
riage, I would plead this day to think 
of this: No marriage has a right to 
be made, which, at its making, has 
less than the prospect of lasting ever- 
lastingly. No marriage at its making, 
has the right to impose the penalty upon 
a home of pulling children two ways at 
once. It is not fair to the children. It 
is not fair to the community. It is not 
fair to the future. It is difficult enough 
to teach children when both parents 
are pulling in the same direction, but 
when the two people that children have 
the most right to look to for guidance 
are each telling them something basical- 
ly different, and are each persuading 
them on a different course in a different 
way, it has in it the seeds of trouble 
and discontent and frustration and un- 
happiness and ineffectiveness in life. 

I would leave this with you as one of 
the greatest elments, one of the indis- 
pensable elements of happiness: unity 
in the home. 

We could mention many more. There 
is humility, always an indispensable. 
I like to recall a sentence from Owen 
Meredith which rings in my heart: "O 
be sure that no man learn anything at 
all unless he first learn humility." 

Of course, there is faith, the first of 
the first principles of the gospel. What 
a glorious thing faith is! Faith! All 
of us would like to know a lot of an- 
swers we do not know. All of us shall 
some day. But it was meant that men 
should live in part by faith. It is a 
glorious thing to have it, to meet the 
unanswered questions, to meet the fears 
of life, to carry us over all difficulties — 
the glorious principle of faith, the first 
of the first principles of the gospel. 

From the fourth section of the Doc- 
trine and Covenants I would recall 
these elements of joy and happiness, 
of peace, and of purpose in life: 

Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, tem- 
perance, patience, brotherly kindness, godli- 
ness, charity, humility, diligence. 

Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it 
shall be opened unto you. (D. & C. 4:6-7.) 

I haven't the language to express to 
you the love I feel for these, my breth- 
ren, for their fatherly and brotherly af- 
fection, confidence, and encouragement. 
I haven't the words to express to you the 
gratitude I feel for my fellowship with 

(Continued on following page) 

435 



Richard l. Evans continued 



you and my membership in this Church, 
in this choice and cherished fellowship; 
and I am grateful for the love and 
affection I feel in my heart for all men, 
all of my Father's children, and for the 
things we have in common. 

I think I know something of the 
weight of responsibility that comes with 
influencing the lives of others. I be- 
lieve I sense something of the responsi- 
bility of bearing witness; and yet to you 
who are here, and to all who may listen 
within and outside membership in this 
Church, I would leave with you the 
witness of my soul as to the divinity of 
the Lord Jesus Christ; as to the Father- 



hood of God, who made us in his image; 
as to the divine reality of the mission 
and message of Joseph Smith, and the 
appearance of the Father and the Son 
unto him, not just in a manner of speak- 
ing, but in very fact; as to the inspired 
and authorized leadership of this Church 
in this day; the prophetic calling of 
President McKay; as to the glorious 
destiny of all men, if they will follow 
the promises, the purposes, the com- 
mandments, and go all the way in keep- 
ing them — not just part way. 

God lives. His purposes are eternal. 
Truth will triumph. Injustice will be 
righted. Men are immortal. There are 



happiness, peace, everlasting life, eternal 
progress for all of us on the terms on 
which our Father offers tbem to us. 

To my beloved young friends of this 
glorious young generation that we have 
in the Church today: May I plead .with 
you to be patient, to search the scrip- 
tures, to keep your lives balanced, and 
to reserve judgment, to keep faith, to 
keep clean, to go forth and rise to the 
high destiny that is yours, and to live 
your lives and make your homes with 
unity of purpose with your companions 
so that you may realize that joy and 
effectiveness and peace and undivided 
purpose in life which will lead to limit- 
less possibilities here and hereafter. 

God bless you and give you every 
needed thing in life, I pray in Jesus' 
name. Amen. 



OVERCOME 
THE WORLD 



by Bruce R. McConkie 

OF THE FIRST COUNCIL OF THE SEVENTY 



If we are to inherit eternal life in the 
kingdom of our Father, we must 
overcome the world. The world is a 
state of wickedness, evil, and carnality, 
a corrupt state in which men dwell and 
in which wickedness holds sway. To 
overcome the world, we must triumph 
over these things. 

All men who live in this world, in 
this state of carnality, and who have 
not overcome the world, are themselves 
carnal and sensual and devilish by na- 
ture. That is the kind of inheritance 
that we have received as part of this 
mortality, and our object and end is to 
overcome the world and develop the 
kind of bodies, and the attributes and 
perfections, that will enable us to dwell 
with holy, pure, and exalted beings in 
the eternal world. 

These truths have been revealed to 
us in many revelations; for instance, 
John wrote these words: 

Love not the world, neither the things 
that are in the world. If any man love the 
world, the love of the Father is not in him. 

For all that is in the world, the lust of 
the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the 
pride of life, is not of the Father, but is 
of the world. 

And the world passeth away, and the lust 
thereof: but he that doeth the will of God 
abideth for ever. (I John 2:15-17.) 

And the great Nephite prophet, Alma, 
in discoursing upon the probationary 
nature of our mortal existence said that 
all men are "carnal, sensual, and devil- 
ish, by nature." (Alma 42:10.) 

436 



From James we have these words: 

. . . know ye not that the friendship of 
the world is enmity with God? whosoever 
therefore will be a friend of the world is 
the enemy of God. (James 4:4.) 

Then finally, we have these expres- 
sions, as spoken by the angel who 
appeared to that righteous King Benja- 
min on this continent: 

For the natural man is an enemy to God, 
and has been from the fall of Adam, and 
will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to 
the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth 
off the natural man and becometh a saint 
through the atonement of Christ the Lord, 
and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, 
humble, patient, full of love, willing to 
submit to all things which the Lord seeth 
fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth 
submit to his father. (Mosiah 3:19.) 

As we understand the plan of salva- 
tion, we came into this sphere of exist- 
ence for two purposes. First: We came 
to gain this natural body, this tangible 
body, this body which here in this life 
is a temporary house for the eternal 
spirit, but which body we will receive 
back again in immortality through the 
atoning sacrifice of Christ. Second: We 
came here to see if we would have the 
spiritual integrity, the devotion to right- 
eousness, to overcome the world, to put 
off the natural man, to bridle our pas- 
sions, to curb and control the appetites 
that are natural in this type of existence. 

We have been put in this environ- 
ment advisedly. We were on probation 



of a sort when we lived in the presence 
of God, our Heavenly Father. But in 
that sphere we walked by sight; in that 
sphere we had spirit bodies. We have 
been sent down here to walk by faith, 
and we have been given natural bodies, 
which are subject to the ills and vicissi- 
tudes, the temptations and lusts of the 
flesh. And now, if by obedience to the 
laws and ordinances of the gospel, by 
keeping the standards of personal right- 
eousness that are found in the gospel, if 
by doing this, we can overcome the 
world, 'we will be taking the bodies 
which we possess and transforming them 
into the kind of bodies that can dwell 
with exalted beings. 

The Prophet said that if we would 
go where God is, we, must be like him; 
that is, we must develop the character- 
istics and the attributes and the perfec- 
tions which God has. The struggle 
which we face is whether we will over- 
come the world or whether we will be 
overcome by the world. All men for- 
sake the world when they come into the 
Church; they then overcome the world 
if they continue in righteousness and 
in diligence in keeping the command- 
ments of God. 

No one has overcome the world, the 
world of carnality and corruption, until 
he has given his heart to Christ, until 
he uses all his talents, abilities, and 
strength in keeping the commandments 
of God, and in causing this great work 
to roll forth. 

The Lord has given us the agency, the 
talent, and the ability to achieve in this 
field. He sent his Son into the world 
to be the great Exemplar, to be a Pat- 
tern, to mark the way whereby we, like 
him, might attain glory and eternal 
reward. 

It was Christ who said: "I have over- 
come the world," (John 16:33) and it 
was also Christ who promised, 

To him that overcometh will I grant to 
sit with me in my throne, even as I also 
overcame, and am set down with my Father 
in his throne. (Revelation 3:21.) 

In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 




AS GENERAL ELECTRIC SEES IT . . . 

Automation 

will help 

U.S. work force 

fill a need for 

40% more goods 

In the next nine years, the demand for 
goods will grow faster than the num- 
ber of people available to produce them 

In 1964, one of the greatest shortages in the 
United States may be man power. Our most con- 
servative estimates indicate 184 million Amer- 
icans will want 40% more goods than we consume 
today, and they may demand 100% more elec- 
trical products; yet the work force available to 
produce the goods will increase less than 13%. 

In our opinion, automation is the most prac- 
tical and desirable solution to this shortage of 
labor. If our standard of living is to keep rising 
the way it has been, machines will have to be 
put to work where none now exist — new, more 
versatile machines will have to be built. 

For working men and women, automation cre- 
ates new jobs requiring more skill and judgment; 
it will give more human beings a chance to do 
creative work . . . work which machines cannot 
do. And, because automation promises more and 
better goods at lower cost, pay checks will buy 
more than ever before. 

Automation has proved to be an evolutionary, 
not a revolutionary, process. It requires careful 
study and adjustment, and there are always short- 
range problems to solve. But using more machines 
is our best hope to meet the coming shortage of 
working people, and allow the available men and 
women to do a higher order of productive work. 
As we see it, this is progress in the American way. 



Tbogress /s Our Most Important Product 

GENERAL^) ELECTRIC 



More responsible jobs: James Faber, a skilled G-E 
employee, shows Arthur F. Vinson, Vice-President — 
Manufacturing, how he controls an improved pro- 
duction operation. For our views on automation, write 
General Electric, Dept.U 2-117, Schenectady, N. Y. 



"We Believe in God" 



by Sterling W. Sill 

ASSISTANT TO THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 



In the early part of the year 1842, 
John Wentworth, editor of the Chi- 
cago Democrat, went to Nauvoo and 
obtained an interview with the Prophet 
Joseph Smith. He requested, among 
other things, that the Prophet write out 
a statement of the things in which the 
Church believed, and the Prophet wrote 
the Thirteen Articles of Faith. Later 
these were accepted by the vote of the 
people and became a part of the doc- 
trine of the Church. They are now in- 
cluded in the Pearl of Great Price and 
form a part of that great volume of 
latter-day scripture. 

This afternoon, and on this anni- 
versary of the birth of the Savior of 
the world, I would like to offer for your 
consideration the first four words of the 
Prophet's statement, from the point of 
view of its being the greatest success 
formula in the world. Victor Hugo 
said, "There is nothing in the world as 
powerful as an idea whose time has 
come," and if we can learn anything 
from the signs of the times, we know 
that the time has fully come when great 
faith in God should take a firmer hold 
upon our minds. 

It has been a hundred thirty-five years 
since God the Father and his Son, Jesus 
Christ, reappeared upon the earth to 
re-establish among men a belief in the 
God of Genesis and to usher in the 
greatest and final dispensation. And 
so as the very foundation of our faith, 
the Prophet said, "We believe in God." 

If the meaning of this phrase were 
limited to the idea that we believe that 
God exists, it would still be one of the 
great statements of the world. That is, 
there is great strength in the knowledge 
that we were not created by, nor are we 
at the mercy of, the forces of a blind and 
capricious chance. But when we say 
"we believe in God," we mean much 
more than merely that God exists. We 
mean that we understand something 
about the kind of being he is, that he is 
literally the Father of our spirits, and, 
according to the great law of the uni- 
verse, the offspring may sometime be- 
come like the parent. 

But the most thrilling and motivating 
part of this idea is what the words 
themselves indicate, that "we believe in 
God." We trust him. We believe that 
he knows his business, that regardless 
of chance or the errors of men, his pur- 
poses will prevail. We believe that our 
interests are his interests, that he meant 
what he said in that wonderful declara- 
tion that "This is my work and my glory 
to bring to pass the immortality and 
438 



eternal life of man." We believe that 
God does not desire that his children 
be dull, or unattractive, or unhappy, or 
unsuccessful. 

There are many things that we do not 
understand. We don't understand our 
own birth or life or growth or death. We 
don't understand light or darkness. No 
one in mortality has ever seen his own 
spirit. We didn't discover the circula- 
tion of our own blood until just a little 
over three hundred years ago. It must 
be obvious, therefore, why a wise Heav- 
enly Father would give us detailed in- 
structions, setting forth objectives and 
the best methods for attaining them. It 
must be equally obvious that there are 
tremendous advantages in a complete 
acceptance of, and an unwavering faith 
in, the gospel; for as an earthly father 
is powerless to confer the maximum 
benefit upon a son who has no confi- 
dence in the motives or abilities of the 
father, so God is powerless to confer the 
greatest blessings upon men who do not 
believe in him. A great power attaches 
to a definite objective held by a strong 
faith. Jesus said, "If thou canst believe, 
all things are possible to him that be- 
lieve." (Mark 9:23.) 

Sometime ago I read about the great 
woman swimming champion, Florence 
Chadwick. In 1950 she swam the Eng- 
lish Channel, and then on July 4, 1952, 
she attempted to swim the twenty-one 
miles of water lying between Catalina 
Island and the southern California 
coast. The temperature of the water 
was forty-eight degrees, and a heavy fog 
lay over the sea. When she was only 
half mile or so from her objective, she 
became discouraged and decided to quit. 
Her father who was in the boat nearby 
tried to encourage her by pointing 
through the fog and telling her that 
land and success were near at hand. 
But she was discouraged, and a dis- 
couraged person is always a weak person. 

The next day Miss Chadwick was 
interviewed by some newspapermen. 
They knew that she had swum greater 
distances on previous occasions, and 
they wanted to know the reason for 
her present failure. In answering their 
questions, Miss Chadwick said, no, it 
wasn't the cold water and it wasn't 
the distance. She said, "I was licked 
by the fog." 

And then she recalled that on the 
occasion when she swam the English 
Channel, she had had a similar expe- 
rience. When only a short way from 
shore she had given up, and this time 
also, her father had pointed ahead, and 



she had raised herself out of the water 
just long enough to get the picture of 
her objective firmly fixed in her mind. 
This gave her a great new surge of 
strength, and she never stopped again 
until she felt under her feet the firm 
earth of victory. 

I thought of this recently when a 
stranger called me on the telephone and 
asked if he and his wife might come 
and discuss with me a great tragedy 
that had recently occurred in their fam- 
ily. He explained that a speeding auto- 
mobile had taken the life of their only 
daughter, and they asked me to try and 
help them understand something about 
the purpose of life and the meaning of 
death and what their relationship ought 
to be with each other, and where God 
fit into the picture, and whether or not 
there was any use for them to try to 
live on. 

This great tragedy weighed upon them 
so oppressively that they almost seemed 
to be suffocating, and for three and a 
half hours I tried as hard as I could to 
help them with their problem. But 
there wasn't much of a foundation on 
which to build, and I discovered that it 
can be a devastating thing all of a sud- 
den to need great faith in God and not 
be able to find it. It wasn't that they 
were rebellious or that they disbelieved 
in God. Their skepticism went deeper; 
they hadn't given him a thought one 
way or the other. It wasn't that they 
disbelieved in immortality; up to this 
point, they hadn't cared. Then death 
had stepped across their threshold and 
taken the best-loved personality there. 
And then all of a sudden, they needed 
great faith in God and were not able 
to find it. 

You can't merely snap your fingers 
and get great faith in God, any more 
than you can snap your fingers and get 
great musical ability. Faith takes hold 
of us only when we take hold of it. 
The great psychologist, William James, 
said, "That which holds our attention 
determines our action," and one of the 
unfortunate things in life is that we 
sometimes focus our attention on the 
wrong things. 

I have been disturbed a little, as I 
have gone around and become more 
conscious of the great variety of tempta- 
tions that we wrestle with and succumb 
to. When we enumerate all of the 
temptations, we find that we often fall 
before some very small ones, merely 
because we have continued to entertain 
them. We talk until we are weary 
about the "temptations down," not so 
much about the "temptations up." 

The dictionary says that to tempt 
is "to arouse a desire for," and so I 
assume that I am correct in thinking 
that temptation can go in either direc- 
tion, although it is the easiest thing in 
the world to allow our minds to become 
loaded with the temptations downward 
— the temptations of lethargy, the temp- 
tations of sloth, the temptations of 
ignorance, the temptations of sin. 

But every thought tends to reproduce 

itself in an act. Rags, tatters, and dirt 

are always in the mind before they ap- 

(Continued on page 440) 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 




JUNE 1955 



439 



Sterling W. Sill 



Continued 



pear on the body. One of the greatest 
handicaps to spiritual growth, or any 
other kind of growth, is to have a nega- 
tive mind, and I suppose that one of 
the functions of a great faith is to lift 
our thoughts upward, to houseclean our 
minds, to sweep out our "temptations 
down," and fill our minds with the 
"temptations up." 

And so I would like to offer you the 
thought of some of the thrilling tempta- 
tions upward — the temptations of cul- 
ture, the temptations of service, the 
temptations of great industry, the temp- 
tations to focus our minds on great 
spirituality, the temptation to believe 
in God. 

I am certain that the greatest waste 
there is in the world is not the devasta- 
tion that goes with war; nor is it the cost 
that accompanies crime; nor is it both 
of these put together. The greatest waste 
in the world is that human beings, you 
and I, live so far below the level of 
our possibilities. 

Henry Ward Beecher was once asked 
whether or not he believed that Chris- 
tianity had failed, and he said that so 
far as he knew, it had never been tried. 
Compared with what we might be, we 
are only half awake. We have great 
concern that our lives may someday 
come to an end, but the real tragedy 
is that so many lives never really have 
a beginning. The fires in our souls need 
rekindling. In speaking of education, 
Francis Bacon said, "If you want a tree 
to produce, don't worry so much about 
the boughs; fertilize the roots." Then 
suppose we give in to that temptation 
to stimulate those great God-given 
powers within ourselves which can lift 
us toward heaven. 

The brute creation goes down on all 
fours, which tends to throw its gaze upon 
the ground. But man stands upright in 
the image of his Maker that his vision 
may reach to the stars. 

The mission of Jesus was up. Even 
in Gethsemane with the awful weight 
of our sins upon his soul, his face looked 
up to God. But whatever may be the 
attitude of the body, the spirit should 
be on its toes. When Jesus was teaching 
us to pray, he inserted that wonderful 
phrase which says, "Thy will be done." 
But even when we repeat these inspiring 
words, intended to lift us up, we usually 
surround it with a spirit of martyred 
resignation. When we say, "Thy will, 
not mine, be done" (see Luke 22:42), 
we may be hoping for the best but we 
are usually expecting the worst. 

We fill our hearts with too many 
doubts and fears and negative thoughts. 
But try to imagine what the great Cre- 
ator would have us do if we did his 
will. Can you conceive of any limits 
he would place upon our progress? 
What would God have us "arouse a 
desire for"? Certainly not for weakness, 
or failure, or sin! Certainly he does 
not want us to fill our minds with the 
temptations down. He is not pleased 
when we become the problem children 

440 



of God. His will is for us to become 
beautiful and glorious like him. 

But the great truths of life become 
known only to those who are prepared 
to accept them. So I • would like to 
present for your consideration the thrill- 
ing temptations of the gospel, the temp- 
tations to live worthily of the celestial 
kingdom, to attain a celestial body, a 
celestial mind, a celestial personality, 
to live with a celestial family and 
celestial friends on a celestial earth. The 
gospel offers us the temptation to accept 
the challenge of Jesus when he said, 
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your 
Father which is in heaven is perfect." 
(Matt. 5:48.) 

"Thy will be done," means to become 
like God. Now try to imagine what the 
mind of the Creator is like. If you 
should lose all of your material posses- 



sions, you might have reason to be 
greatly depressed. But how poor you 
would be if you lost your faith in God! 

My brothers and sisters, we have 
lived successfully through the long ages 
of a pre-existence. Now w r e live in 
mortality which is very short. And we 
are very near the end of the race. How 
unfortunate are they who relax their 
efforts when on the very verge of suc- 
cess, like the great Roman general, 
Cato, who committed suicide on the 
very eve of his triumph. If you some- 
times feel that the water is a little cold 
and the way is a little foggy, then is 
the time to look up and have faith, for 
there is land ahead. 

"All things are possible to him that 
believeth," and so in our daily devo- 
tions we hold ever closer the very 
foundation of our faith, God's formula 
for success, "We believe in God." 

May God bless our faith, I pray in 
the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 



A Marvelous Work 



by LeGrand Richards 

OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE 



I am sure as we come to the closing 
moments of this great conference our 
hearts are full of gratitude to the 
Lord for the blessings it has brought 
to each of us individually, and to the 
Church. We have had some wonder- 
ful counsel and advice and instruction 
given to us. The music has been de- 
lightful. The prayers from these mis- 
sion presidents have thrilled us, and, al- 
together, I am sure that we feel in* our 
hearts a re-dedication of our lives and 
our talents and all that we have to the 
building of the kingdom of God in the 
earth. 

I recall fifty years ago when with the 
missionaries and President Grant who 
was then the president of the European 
Mission, I attended a conference in Hol- 
land that lasted all day. There were 
many tears shed during that day. At 
the close of the conference President 
Grant said: "Today we have feasted on 
the fat things of the Spirit of the Lord. 
Now, brethren, go out and give it away. 
The more you give away the more you 
will have left." That should be the 
feeling in the heart of every member 
who has been privileged to attend this 
conference. We ought to carry its spirit 
wherever we go — in our workshops, in 
our businesses, on our farms, and in all 
our activities in the Church, and in 
whatsoever we are called to do, we 
should carry this wonderful spirit with 
us into the world. 

I am grateful for the presence here of 
these mission presidents and the great 
work that they are accomplishing. They 
are noble men. They have great re- 
sponsibility. They have entrusted to 



them your boys and girls, the youth of 
Zion, who have gone forth as mission- 
aries, and when new converts come into 
the Church, they have the responsibility 
to see that they are all put to work, that 
they use the gifts and the talents with 
which the Lord has endowed them for 
the building up of his kingdom, and for 
the honor and glory of his name, and 
for the blessing of his children, that 
there shall be no wasted manpower, just 
as the bishops in these wards share that 
great responsibility also. 

While Brother Bennion and Brother 
Evans were speaking about joy and hap- 
piness, my thoughts went to the ex- 
periences I have enjoyed during the past 
year. It has been my privilege, besides 
mingling with the Saints in the stakes 
of Zion, to go to four of the missions 
of the Church. I toured two of them. 
Over in Hawaii, with President Nelson, 
we held a testimony meeting that lasted 
from seven o'clock in the morning until 
five o'clock at night, and we had only 
a fifteen minute recess. We were all 
there fasting, and eighty-eight of us 
bore our testimonies, and the Spirit of 
the Lord was manifested in rich meas- 
ure. 

Then I toured two missions and in- 
terviewed eighty-five missionaries indi- 
vidually in one and sixty-five in the 
other. I was in another mission where 
one young man said, "Bishop, why do 
the brethren not send someone around 
to teach our parents the gospel the way 
we are teaching it to these people here 
in the mission field?" I came to feel 
that if you wanted to find the happiest 
{Continued on page 442) 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 




The 

Blacksmith 

who swings 

a Thousand 

Hammers 




i HE old-time village blacksmith who used his 
muscles to swing a hammer was a picturesque and 
important man in his day. But today he'd be lost 
trying to meet the requirements of a modern 
blacksmith at Utah Copper's Machine Shop in 
Bingham Canyon. 

At the shop, the modern smith swings a thou- 
sand hammers at once to handle such jobs as con- 
verting an old locomotive axle into a boot jack for 
an electric shovel. And he does it because, instead 
of using his own muscles, he commands the crush- 
ing strength of a two-ton air hammer. 

An up-to-date blacksmith's hammer, lathes, 
boring mills and many other machines are on the 
job keeping mining equipment in good working 



order. The 150 men who work in the acre and a 
half machine shop are part of the team of 6,000 
who produce copper in Utah. 

Where does the money come from to pay the 
men and buy the expensive equipment housed in 
the Machine Shop? It comes from one source only. 

By selling copper at a profit, Utah Copper is 
able to spend the money needed to repair and 
maintain equipment. Profits buy new equipment 
and pay for developing better mining, milling and 
refining methods. 

When Utah Copper sells its product profitably, 
it continues the operations that produce prosper- 
ity for people living in every section of our state. 




Kennecott Copper Corporation 



A Good Neighbor Helping to Build a Better Utah 



JUNE 1955 



441 



leGrand Richards 



Continued 



people in this world, and those who 
really have had their hearts touched 
with divine joy, you should go into the 
mission field. You find these young 
men and young women who are giving 
all their time to the work of the Lord, 
and one by one they will testify that it 
is the happiest time of their entire lives. 
I have met for hours with the mission- 
aries in the mission field, and they 
would say: "When we were home, we 
heard the returned missionaries say 
that their mission was the happiest time 
of their lives, and we did not believe a 
word of it, and now we know what they 
were talking about." One young man 
said, "There isn't a corporation or a 
company in this world that could pay 
me a large enough salary to get me to' 
leave my mission." Another young 
man said: "I would not take a check 
for a million dollars for the experience 
of my mission," and as I listened to such 
statements, I thought of the words of 
Alma when he said that he would that 
he had the voice of an angel that he 
might cry repentance to all the world. 
Surely the Lord is the best paymaster 
in all the world. He knows how to 
make his children happy when they are 
doing his great work. 

I have said, and I repeat here, that 
as long as the Lord will put such faith 
and feelings and satisfaction and joy 
in the hearts of his missionaries, you 
just cannot stop this work from rolling 
on in the earth, and I thank the Lord 
for the great work that is being done in 
the missionary fields of the Church, hot 
only in the foreign fields, but also here 
in the stakes of Zion. 

Last year, according to reports, 18,573 
people decided to cast their lot with 
this great Church, leaving the teachings 
they had been taught, because of the 
efforts of the missionaries in bringing 
to them the gospel of the Lord, Jesus 
Christ, and I thank the Lord for each 
one of them and pray that they them- 
selves may become working units and 
witnesses of the great truths the Lord 
has established in the earth. 

We have a great responsibility, those 
of us who are privileged to be here in 
Zion. You remember the words of the 
Prophet Jeremiah of old when he said, 

Turn, O backsliding children, saith the 
Lord; for I am married unto you: and I 
will take you one of a city, and two of a 
family, and I will bring you to Zion: 

And I will give you pastors according to 
mine heart." (Jer. 3:14-15.) 

Now, when we are gathered to Zion, 
either here or in her stakes or missions, 
we have a great responsibility. I think 
of the words of the psalmist, who saw 
our day. Quoting from the fiftieth 
Psalm: 

The mighty God, even the Lord, hath 
spoken, and called the earth, from the ris- 
ing of the sun unto the going down there- 
of. 

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God 
hath shined. (Psalm 50:1-2.) 

Now, I ask you, how has the Lord 
"shined" out of Zion the perfection of 

442 



beauty? He has gathered them one of a 
city and two of a family and taught 
them with pastors after his own heart, 
and then he sends them out again, call- 
ing to the earth from the rising of the 
sun unto the going down thereof, and 
God cannot call to the earth crying 
repentance to bring his children to a 
knowledge of the truth without instru- 
ments to do the calling. That is where 
our great responsibility lies, and as I 
have indicated, over 18,000 during the 
past year have heeded that call and 
have gone down into the waters of bap- 
tism, being born again, taking upon 
them the name of Christ, and as Paul 
said, 

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is 

neither bond nor free, there is neither male 

nor female: for ye are all one in Christ 
Jesus. (Gal. 3:28.) 

That, we feel as we travel in the mis- 
sions, as President McKay has just done, 
down in the islands of the South Pacific, 
and down in Central America where I 
have just been, I interviewed some of the 
missionaries who are converts to the 
Church who have never been here in 
our midst, and when they tell us that 
they had nothing to live for until the 
gospel found them, and now they really 
have something to live for, and bear wit- 
ness that the time that they have been 
in the Church is the happiest time of 
all their lives, it makes you feel grate- 
ful to God that the Church has grown 
to such proportions that it can begin 
to reach out into all these foreign fields 
and carry to them the message of eternal 
truth as the Lord has revealed it. 

I told those good people down in that 
land that if I had come to them from 
the States with enough money to give 
each of them a million dollars, it would 
not be worth one hundredth part as 
much to them as the message that I had* 
to bring to them. That represents the 
importance of our message. It is what 
Jesus called the "pearl of great price." 

He said that when a merchant man 
seeking goodly pearls found the "pearl 
of great price," he went and sold all 
that he had and bought it. (Matt. 
13:45-46.) And when one has acquired 
it, it is a thing that brings joy and 
peace and happiness and satisfaction 
into one's soul, the like of which he 
cannot find in any other way in the 
world. 

I have great faith in the words of the 
prophets. I believe, as Isaiah said, that 
known unto God are all of his works 
from the beginning, and he has per- 
mitted his prophets to speak of those 
things, and when you stop to analyze 
what prophecy really is, no mortal man 
of himself could catch as it were the 
intelligence of God and know the future 
events of the world and portray them 
to the world except by the power of the 
Holy Ghost. 

That is what Peter meant when he 
said, 

We have also a more sure word of proph- 
ecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take 
heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark 



place, until the day dawn, and the day 
star arise in your hearts: 

Knowing this first, that no prophecy of 
the scripture is of any private interpreta- 
tion. 

For the prophecy came not in old time 
by the will of man: but holy men of God 
spake as they were moved by the Holy 
Ghost. (II Peter 1:19-21.) 

When you put the prophecies to- 
gether and see what the Lord permitted 
his prophets to see, you realize that we 
are living in the Dispensation of the 
Fulness of Times that all of the proph- 
ets have looked forward to, the greatest 
gospel dispensation the world has ever 
known.; In the words of the Lord 
through the Prophet Joseph Smith, we 
live in "the light of the noon day sun," 
and you know that is the brightest period 
of the entire day. We live in the day 
when the brightest spiritual light is 
available to all men, and if the world 
knew what we have, I testify to you 
that there is not an honest man, or an 
honest woman, in all this world who 
really loves the Lord, and who would 
be willing to sacrifice friends and loved 
ones in order to be identified with his 
Church, who would not accept the gos- 
pel message as it is brought to them by 
the elders of this Church, because it is 
in very deed God's eternal truth. 

Therefore, I said to the people in 
Central America, that if I could bring 
them a million dollars it would not be 
worth as much to them as the message 
we have to bear. 

Some years ago, one of our great com- 
mentators is reported to have made this 
statement. He said he was asked what 
message could be broadcast to the world 
that would be considered of greater 
value than any other message that could 
go out over the air. He said after giv- 
ing the thought consideration, he came 
to the conclusion that the greatest mes- 
sage that could be broadcast to this 
world would be to say that a man who 
had lived upon the earth and died, had 
returned again with a message from 
God. If that be true, we have the great- 
est message that can possibly be broad- 
cast to the world. We not only testify 
that a man who lived upon the earth 
and died has returned with a message 
from God, but also that God, the Eternal 
Father, introduced his own Son in his 
resurrected body of flesh and bone, to 
the boy Prophet, Joseph Smith, which 
event we will celebrate next Sunday, it 
being Easter, and from him, this boy 
Prophet, Joseph Smith, learned that he 
should join none of the churches. 

Now, that is a hard thing to say to 
most people because they think all the 
churches are good. And there is good 
in them, just as there is in the Kiwanis 
Club and the Rotary Club, and the 
Exchange Club, and other civic organ- 
izations, but there are no people, no 
organization, nor individual, who can 
take upon himself or themselves the 
power of the Holy Priesthood, the power 
to bind on earth and it shall be bound 
in heaven. That power has to come 
from God, the Eternal Father. 

When we see the perfectness of nature 

and how marvelous the Lord's works 

are, it is hard to believe that he could 

(Continued on page 444) 

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leGrand Richards 



Continued 



be the author of all the confusion there 
is in the world today in spiritual mat- 
ters. Some of our greatest leaders have 
borne their testimonies of the need of 
Christianity coming again as it was 
formerly. I would like to read a few 
words from Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick, 
who you know is one of our great spirit- 
ual leaders in the United States. He 
said: 

A religious reformation is afoot, and at 
heart it is the endeavor to recover for our 
modern life the religion of Jesus as against 
the vast, intricate, largely inadequate and 
often positively false religions about Jesus. 
Christianity today has largely left the re- 
ligion which he preached, taught, and lived, 
and has substituted another kind of reli- 
gion altogether. If Jesus could come back 
to earth now, hear the mythologies built 
up around him, see the creedalism, denomi- 
nationalism, sacramentalism, carried on in 
his name, he would certainly say, "If this 
is Christianity, I am not a Christian." 

This is not a statement from the Mor- 
mons but in substance is the same state- 
ment the Redeemer of the world made 
to this boy Prophet, Joseph Smith, when 
the Father introduced him and the 
Savior inquired of Joseph what he 
wanted to know. He told him he 
should join none of the churches. Presi- 
dent McKay has referred here today to 
that great promise that a marvelous 
work and a wonder was about to come 
forth. That was also the statement 
made nearly three thousand years ago 
recorded by Isaiah, when he said: 

Forasmuch as this people draw near me 
with their mouth, and with their lips do 
honour me, but have removed their- heart 
far from me, and their fear toward me is 
taught by the precept of men: 

Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a 
marvellous work among this people even 
a marvellous work and a wonder: for the 
wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and 
the understanding of their prudent men 
shall be hid. (Isaiah 29:13-14) 

I wonder, in the minds of the world, 
when they read such promises as this, 
how they can sit idly by and not believe 
that some day the God of heaven would 
fulfil this promise, because as Peter 
said, we have a more sure word of 
prophecy, and here the Lord declared 
that he would bring forth a marvelous 
work and a wonder. Why should not 
the world open their hearts and be will- 
ing to investigate when we bring to 
them the announcement that the God 
of heaven has revealed himself, and 
with him, his only Begotten Son? Such 
a knowledge as this certainly is worth 
more than all the wealth of the world 
and is the greatest message that could 
possibly be broadcast to the world. 

Take the other prophecies of the 
scripture. I think of the words of 
Jesus as he walked along the way and 
met the two disciples on their way to 
Emmaus, following his crucifixion, and 
as he listened to them you will recall 
he said, 

O fools, and slow of heart to believe all 
that the prophets have spoken: 

444 



Ought not Christ to have suffered these 
things, and enter into his glory? (Luke 24: 
25-26.) 

Then he began to explain the scrip- 
tures to them and opened their under- 
standing that they might understand 
the scriptures. 

So today, if the Savior were here 
among us, he would say to this world 
in which we live, 

Have I not permitted the prophets to 
speak unto you? Have I not given them 
the signs of the times in the latter days 
by which you should know that there was 
to be a new truth revealed to the earth 
in the day when men .should teach for doc- 
trine the commandments of men? Why 
should you not be praying unto the God 
of Israel that this great message that is 
promised by the prophets should come, just 
as Israel should have been praying for the 
coming of the great Redeemer of the world 
when he came in the Meridian of Time? 

Today we are, as the prophets of old 
have indicated, speaking of the world 
generally, as they who have eyes that 
see not, and ears that hear not, and 
hearts that do not understand and com- 
prehend the marvelous things that the 
Lord has done. 

We have testimony here today of the 
fact that the Father and the Son are 
real personages with bodies. You re- 
member, some of you, who read the 
book written by Senator Beveridge, in 
which he devoted a chapter to the young 
man and the pulpit. He told of his 
experience interviewing ministers and 
others during his vacation time, and 
how people wanted to believe. They 
wanted to believe that there is a God 
who is a real Personage, and then he 
said that one great railroad magnate 
said that he would give all the wealth 
of the United States to know that after 
he died he would live again with a con- 
scious identity, knowing who he was 
and who other people were. 

To every Latter-day Saint, through 
the restoration of the gospel, that be- 
comes an obvious common truth in our 
Church, and yet here was a man who 
would have given all the wealth of the 
United States in order to know that one 
great truth that we have to teach. 

I want to say a few words about the 
coming of Moroni, who brought the 
plates from which the Book of Mormon 
was translated. You just cannot believe 
the words of the prophets, you cannot 
believe the Holy Bible, witbout knowing 
that there is a companion volume of 
scripture to go with it. What is it» 
worth? To some of us it has been a 
great inspiration in our lives. 

I heard a young serviceman, who re- 
turned from the service, talking in a 
youth meeting not long ago. He held 
up the Book of Mormon and said: "This 
book kept me clean and brought me 
home clean to my loved ones. I read 
from it every day that I was in the 
service." 

Some years ago a story was told about 
an elderly brother who was sent on a 
mission. He wrote letters back to 
President Joseph F. Smith, calling his 



attention to this statement and that 
statement in the Book of Mormon, so 
wonderful he thought the Presidency of 
the Church had never read them just 
because he had not read them. 

I wonder how many copies of the 
Book of Mormon there are in our li- 
braries that never get read? 

A short time ago an article appeared 
in the newspaper which stated that 
William A. Kennedy was here from 
Lima, Peru, to gather money to estab- 
lish a research university down in Lima, 
Peru, to study the early inhabitants of 
the Americas, particularly dealing with 
the Mayan and Incan civilizations. This 
article said that with the pledges he 
had, when matched by the small Ameri- 
can countries, as they had promised, it 
would give them over thirty million 
dollars, with an assurance that within 
five years the amount would be in- 
creased to between sixty and seventy 
million dollars, and that President 
Hoover had agreed to serve on that 
board. 

I have never heard what became of 
it, but this was the thought I had. They 
were willing to contribute sixty to 
seventy million dollars to learn some- 
thing about the early inhabitants of that 
land, and when they have spent it all, 
they would not know one thousandth 
part as much as they could learn by 
reading the Book of Mormon that they 
could get for fifty cents, and if they did 
not have the fifty cents, we would give 
them a copy for nothing. 

The Book of Mormon not only tells 
us the history of the people, and what 
they did, but it also gives unto us the 
words of their prophets, and not only 
that, it also tells us that this is a land 
choice above all oher lands. Upon this 
land shall be built the New Jerusalem 
of the Lord our God, and they will not 
likely find that recorded in any relics 
they find down in those mounds in 
South and Central America, many of 
which I have recently seen. 

I was thrilled by Brother Hunter's 
testimony of these records that parallel 
the records of the Book of Mormon. I 
have never seen this in print, but I 
heard President Callis make this state- 
ment: that after the Book of Mormon 
came forth the Prophet Joseph was ter- 
ribly worried about what the world 
would say, and he said, "O Lord, what 
will the world say?" And the answer 
came back, "Fear not, I will cause the 
earth to testify of the truth of these 
things," and from that day until now, 
and only the Lord knows what is yet 
a-head, external evidences have been 
brougbt forth of the divinity of that 
book. 

But more than all this is the promise 
contained in the last chapter by Moroni, 
that if one will read it with a prayerful 
heart the Lord will manifest the truth 
of it unto him by the power of the Holy 
Ghost. 

When I was a boy, I led our Sun- 
day School in reciting the testimony of 
the three witnesses, and their words 
have rung through my heart from that 
day until this, when those men testi- 
fied that an angel of God came down 
from heaven and brought and laid be- 
(Continued on page 446) 
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LeGrand Richards 



Continued 



fore their eyes the plates from which 
the Book of Mormon was translated and 
testified that it was translated by the 
gift and by the power of God. 

I give you that witness today. I wish 
there were time to discuss other marvel- 
ous things the Lord has given us in the 
restoration of the gospel. Then you 
would know why it is the greatest mes- 
sage that could be broadcast to the world 
and why it is worth more than all the 
wealth of this world. 



I bear you solemn witness that I 
know this work is of God. I know the 
greatest joy that can fill the human soul 
and breast is the testimony of the Spirit 
of God, and I tell you, brothers and 
sisters, we ought to go out and share it 
with our neighbors and our friends, and 
may God bless every effort that is being 
put forth by the membership of this 
Church in that direction I pray, and 
leave you my love and blessing, in the 
name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen. 



1/1/ hence and l/l/nu ana i/l/nUner: 



f 



Richard L. Evans 



IVTot long ago I watched a loving family before an open 
grave, as the casket of a beloved silver-haired father 
was lowered to its resting place. There was calm. There 
was peace, and no evidence of irreconcilable sorrow. In their 
hearts there seemed to be assurance that all that is most 
loved in life is everlasting. And then I thought of other some- 
what similar scenes — similar, but different in that there 
seemed to be little assurance; different in that the cry of the 
heart was reflected in the fear that this parting was final — 
the fear of anguished utterance: "Oh, if only we knew, if 
only we could be sure that it is so — that death is conquered, 
that life is everlasting, that personality is forever perpetuated, 
that our loved ones will be there to welcome us." These 
are the age-old cries and questions — the questions of Whence? 
and Why? and Whither? — questions concerning the open 
grave that have faced men from the first time death intruded 
into the realm of life. These questions the disciples of Jesus 
faced. And to the chief priests and Pharisees who requested 
". . . that the sepulchre be made sure . . ." Pilate replied, 
"Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can." 1 
And so they did. But no man can secure the grave against 
the glorious eternal reality of everlasting life. "And when 
they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted." 2 
Yes, some doubted. Some still doubt. Some say in their 
loss and loneliness: "Oh, if only I knew, if only I could be- 
sure." But you who wrestle in your souls with the question 
of everlasting life, take peace unto your hearts, for God has 
not deceived us in the assurance that the sweetest, finest 
things of life are everlasting, including the promised renewal 
of the association with those we love. Scripture, logic, reason, 
revelation, all confirm it, with all the intimations of im- 
mortality within us, and with the added word of witnesses. 
He who holds creation in its course, and who brought us to 
birth, has not deceived us in letting us so much love life, and 
so much love our loved ones. Let faith overcome fear, for 
the question of the open grave was solved some nineteen 
centuries ago — and as surely as we lay away our loved ones, 
just so surely do they live always and forever. 

Jke Spoken lA/Ofd FROM TEMPLE SQUARE- 

PRESENTED OVER KSL AND THE COLUMBIA BROADCASTING 

SYSTEM, APRIL 10, 1955 

Copyright, 1955 



446 



iMatthew 27:64-65. 
2 Ibid., 28:17. 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 




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Richard L. Evans 



Cometimes some people seem to pride themselves on being 
M self-contained, on withholding their thoughts and ex- 
periences from others. Up to a point, this may be evidence 
of a strong and admirable self-reliance. But the most enjoyed 
things in life are enjoyed as they are shared. Consider, for 
example, the common, and often humorously referred to 
occurrence of people's telling of their operations. Even that 
questionable enjoyment isn't what it might be unless there 
is someone else to tell it to. Trips taken are more enjoyed, 
first of all if there are others along, and secondly if there is 
someone to tell about them after they are over. Perhaps 
this explains in part the prevalent practice of bringing back 
pictures and insisting on showing them— even at the risk, 
sometimes, of being a bit boring. Life is much more satisfying 
with something shared. Sometimes husbands and wives live 
too much within themselves, not sharing enough with one 
another — of thoughts, of hopes, even of fears, of heartfelt 
feelings, of pleasant things encountered during the day — in 
short, not enough of opening up, too much of living in tight 
compartments. Sometimes children, too, live in tight com- 
partments, and too closely keep their confidences from par- 
ents. (And sometimes parents are at fault in seeming to be 
too busy to listen!) Mothers and fathers and children are 
missing something preciously essential if they don't share 
sincerely, understandingly, with one another, something of 
the circle in which they live their separate lives. There is 
strength and safety in sharing — even in sharing fears and 
troubles when there is need of it. Part of living consists of 
learning to be a good listener, and part consists of giving 
out, of entering into, of learning to share ourselves. And re- 
fraining from confidences with those we love and live with 
is not a very rewarding way of life. It is a trite thing to say 
— a platitude concerning which there will be some cynicism 
— but it is true: that in sharing we receive, that in giving 
we get. And for a daughter or a son to come home of an 
evening and to tell of a lovely time makes the experience not 
only his again — but others' also. To paraphrase one word 
of this deeply significant sentence from the Savior: "For 
whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will 
[share] his life . . . shall find it" 1 — over and over again. 

Jke Spoken Word from temple square 

PRESENTED OVER KSL AND THE COLUMBIA BROADCASTING 

SYSTEM, APRIL 17, 1955 

Copyright, 1955 



Watthew 16:25. 



PRAYER FOR THE RIGHT WORD 

By Anna M. Priestley 



P'ive us strong words for these imperiled 

** days; 

A weak word is the one link that betrays. 

Let words be chosen with consummate care, 
Released with caution, only after prayer, 
For they are weapsons that, if rightly used, 
Can build a world, or wreck it if abused. 
The wrong words now could set our world 

on fire, 
The right ones mold it more to our desire. 
Give us well-rounded words, carved to the 

line 



Of precious metals from the heart's own 

mine, 
For love can build a stronger citadel 
Than that in which the mind's cold minions 

dwell. 
God give the men who hold our destiny 
Wise words to halt the march of tyranny, 
Words that will show our honest purpose 

lies 
In helping all who will to fraternize 
'And yet convince the world that we would 

fight 
To the last man for what we know is right. 

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(Concluded from page 394) 
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Ability to make a sensible appraisal 
of himself is also an important source 
of security to a child, particularly an 
adolescent. Parents and teachers 
should tactfully help him learn to 
accept his limitations, but not in a 
lazy, indifferent way. Suppose your 
son can't possibly make the high 
school football team, but he's a good 
marksman; by all means make it pos- 
sible for him to join the rifle team and 
get the most fun from it that he can. 
Encouraging children to be the kind 
of people their special aptitudes and 
talents fit them for can increase their 
feeling of security immeasurably. 

Although a certain sense of secur- 
ity is essential to happy, healthy liv- 
ing, there is such a thing as surround- 
ing a child with too much of it. Even 
children must sometimes face diffi- 
culties and solve their own problems. 
For this reason, absolute trust in 
adults and dependence on them 
should not be allowed to reach undue 
proportions as a child grows from 
babyhood. If he is ever going to at- 
tain emotional maturity, he needs to 
learn to direct, manage, and discipline 
himself; he should gradually become 
more and more self-reliant. As he 
develops physically and mentally, he 
should be given many opportunities 
for practice in taking responsibility. 
Fortunately, children soon develop the 
urge to do things for themselves; "let 
me do it," they insist. Adults should 
encourage this desire. 

Youngsters sometimes demand in- 
dependence in what to adults seems 
an alarming degree. We should 
recognize this characteristic as a neces- 
sary part of the growing-up process, 
guide them to assert their independ- 
ence in legitimate ways, and help 
them change from a domineering 
attitude to one of co-operation with 
those about them. 



450 



FORECAST 

By Helen Baker Adams 

HPhey predict the weather for me — 

The children across the way — 
Kites and skates and a ball-on-a-string 
Announce a still chilly day. 
Marbles and skip-ropes and jacks foretell 
Warm earth and a genuine sun. 
And when they reopen that lemonade stand, 
I know that the summer's begun! 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 




0ie€(mi^m 



JR.M-MEN & JR. GLEANERS 

1. THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN — Available 
at all prices and bindings. 

2. LARRY — Foster Foundation of America $2.75 

3. OUR FIRST LADIES — Jane and Burt 
McConnell $3.50 

4. IN THE GOSPEL NET — John A. Widtsoe $1.75 

5. LOVE IS ETERNAL — Irving Stone $3.95 

This novel relates the dramatically different 
story of the marriage of Mary Todd and 
Abraham Lincoln. It portrays Mary Todd as 
beautiful, intelligent, high-spirited, and often 
misjudged by historians. 

6. PERSIA IS MY HEART — Najmen Naiafi as 

told to Helen Hinckley $3.00 

7. PERSONAL PROBLEMS — John B Geisel $3.25 

^ _ __ _^ __ "I 

8. GRANDMA MOSES — My Life's History- 
Edited by Otto Kallir $3.50 

9. BY THESE WORDS — Selected by Paul M. 
Angle $5.95 

A compilation of the great documents of 
American lrberty. 

10. LOVE IS ETERNAL — Irving Stone $3.95 

11. ABRAHAM LINCOLN — Carl Sandburg $7.50 

Based on his famed six volume work on 
Lincoln, Carl Sandburg has written this de- 
finitive one-volume biography . . . rated by 
critics as one of the best of the decade. 

12. DOCTRINES OF SALVATION — Sermons 
and Writings of Joseph Fielding Smith — 
Compiled by Bruce R. McConkie $3.00 

13. JOHNNY TREMAIN — Esther Forbes $3.00 

Revolutionary Boston in 1773 is the scene 
of this exciting novel about a young boy 
who finds a way to assist the American 

patriots. 

14. THE FOREIGNER — Gladys Malvern $2.75 

15. BONNIE, ISLAND GIRL — Genevieve Fox .$2.75 
JUNE 1955 



MIA MAIDS 




JACOB 
HAMBUH 




CARLSANDBUFG 

ABRAHAM 

I 



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SCOUTS 



16. JACOB HAMBLIN AMONG THE INDIANS— 

James A. Little $ .25 

17. THE YOUNGEST SOLDIER — Mabel Harmer $2.75 

Young Marty and his family leave England to join 
the Mormons. In the long trek across wilderness coun- 
try to Zion, 16-year-old Marty enlists in the Nauvoo 
Legion, and becomes the "y° un S est soldier." 



EXPLORERS 



18. THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN 

19. JACOB HAMBLIN AMONG THE INDIANS— 

James A. Little $ .25 

This book tells the story of Jacob Hamblin's courage, 
his understanding of the Indians, and the many bonds 
of friendship he makes with them. 

20. HORSES ARE FOR WARRIORS — William E. Sanderson $3.50 



BEEHIVE 



r 

21. LIFE OF THE BEE — Maurice Maeterlinck $3.00 

22. REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM — Kate D. Wiggin $1.25 

23. ANNE OF GREEN GABLES — L. M Montgomery $1.25 

This is the heart-warming story of Anne Shirley, a 
little orphan girl, who is adopted by an elderly couple. 
How she develops into a lovely woman and overcomes 
all obstacles makes interesting reading. 

24. GIRL OF THE LIMBERLOST — Gene S Porter $1.49 

25. THE SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON — H Wyss $1.50 

26. FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE — Jeonnette C. Nolan $3.00 

27. BEN HUR — Lew Wallace $1.50 

28. LITTLE WOMEN — Louisa M Alcott $1.50 

29. POLLYANNA — Eleanor H. Porter $1.00 

30. THE LEES OF ARLINGTON — Marguerite Vance $2.75 

31. FIVE LITTLE PEPPERS — Margaret Sidney $1.50 

32. LITTLE SHEPHERD OF KINGDOM COME — 

John Fox, Jr $1.49 



Dessert 



i 



44 East South Temple - Salt Lake City, Utah 



DESERET BOOK COMPANY 
44 East South Temple 
Salt Lake City, Utah 

Gentlemen: 

Enclosed you will find ( ) check ( ) money order or ( ) charge 

fo my account the amount $ for the encircled (numbered) 

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17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 



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451 



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in your home • • • • 



TW 




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and profit 

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Interesting 



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A small amount of equipment will start you on a 
fascinating hobby ... or a new source of income 



• Hand Weaving — An almost lost art is now 
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thusiasm. 

• Quality Hand Woven fabrics and personal- 
ized gift items are in great demand. 

• Within a few hours one can learn the basic 
fundamentals of this exciting and practi- 
cal art with the assistance of an instructor 
or Hand Weaving instruction and pattern 
books. 

• Complete equipment for Hand Weaving 
costs as little as $25.85 for a 13", 2 harness 
table loom including shuttles; or our new 
45", 4 harness Herald Jack Loom (as pic- 
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frame, skein winder, shuttles, bobbins, and 
all-purpose electric bobbin winder all for 
$258.3 5. Priced f.o.b. Los Angeles. Large 
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NAME 

ADDRESS 

CITY STATE 



452 



June Conference Events 

(Continued from page 374) 

FAST— Hotel Utah ($2.25, reservations 
necessary by June 6). 
3:45 p.m. MUSIC FESTIVAL REHEARS- 

5:00 p.m. ERA CITATION DINNER— 
Hotel Utah. 

7:00 p.m. MUSIC FESTIVAL (first per- 
formance) — Tabernacle. 

9:00 p.m. MUSIC FESTIVAL (repeat per- 
formance) — Tabernacle. 

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, DEPARTMENT 
SESSIONS 

EXECUTIVE AND SECRETARY 
9:00-10:30 a.m. Stake and Ward MIA Su- 
perintendencies, Presidencies, and Secre- 

|ni"]p c I p^p l"T"l r\ C* I P 

10:30-12:00 noon Stake and Ward YM Su- 
perintendencies and Secretaries — Assembly 
Hall. 
10:30-12:00 noon Stake and Ward YW 
Presidencies and Secretaries — Tabernacle. 
1:30-3:30 p.m. Stake and Ward YM Su- 
perintendents and YW Presidents — Taber- 
nacle. 
1:30-3:30 p.m. Stake and Ward Age-group 

Executives — Assembly Hall. 
2:00-4:00 p.m. Stake and Ward Activity Ex- 
ecutives — Bonneville Stake House (1535 
Bonneview Drive) 
YM SECRETARIES 2:00 p.m.— Stake and 
Ward General Session — Capitol Hill Ward 
(3rd No. and Columbus St.). 
YW SECRETARIES 1:00 p.m.— New Stake. 
1:30 p.m.— New Ward and Stake. 2:00- 
4:00 p.m. — All Secretaries — Barratt Hall 
(60 No. Main). 
YW ATTENDANCE SECRETARIES 1:00- 
1:30 p.m.— Stake. 1:40 p.m.— All Secre- 
taries. 3:15-4:00 p.m. — New Secretaries 
and Questions and Answers — 18th Ward 
(2nd Ave. and A Street). 
IMPROVEMENT ERA 9:30 a.m. and 1:00 
p.m. — General Sessions. Whittier Ward 
(1515 So. 2nd East). Lunch 85c at noon. 
SPECIAL INTEREST 8:00 a.m.— Stake lead- 
ers. 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.— All Stake 
and Ward Leaders and Class Officers. 
Cannon Stake Center, 934 Fremont Ave- 
nue (West 1100 So. Street). Smorgasbord 
Lunch $1.00 at noon in Jordan Park. 
M MEN-GLEANER 9:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. 
—General Sessions. Monument Park 
Ward (957 So. 20th East). Lunch 85c. 
Dinner Bell for Stake Supervisors — 4:15 
p.m. Monument Park Ward, $1.50. 
Reservations necessarv by June 7th. 
JUNIOR M MEN-JUNIOR GLEANERS 
7:00 a.m. — Stake Supervisors' Breakfast, 
$1.25, reservations necessary by June 9th. 
9:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. — General Sessions. 
Institute of Religion, 274 University St. 
11:30— Lunch U of U Cafeteria. 
EXPLORER 8:30 a.m.— Stake Leaders. 10:00 
a.m. — Stake and Ward Leaders. Lunch 
$1.00. 1:30 p.m.— Joint Meeting with Mia 
Maids. Pioneer Stake Center (1401 W. 
7th South). 
MIA MAID 8:30 a.m.— Stake Supervisors. 
10:00 a.m. — Stake and Ward Leaders. 
Lunch $1.00. 1:30 p.m.— Joint with Ex- 
plorers. Pioneer Stake Center (1401 W. 
7th South). 
SCOUTS 9:00 a.m.— Stake Scout Leaders. 
10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. — General Ses- 
sions. Lunch $1.00. Yale Ward (1431 
Gilmer Drive). 
BEE HIVE 7:30 a.m. Stake. 9:30 a.m. and 
1 :00 p.m. — General Sessions for Stake and 
Ward Bee Keepers. Kingsbury Hall, U 
of U Campus. Lunch $1.00. 
YM ATHLETICS 8:30 a.m.— Division Su- 
pervisors. 10:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. — 

(Concluded on page 454) 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 





...the way you want it! 





announcing 




's all new SP-168 

?awm^ HARVESTOR 





POWERFLOW DRIVE 

Variable -speed hydraulic drive 
allows operator lo change ground 
speeds in any gear without chang- 
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shifting. 



NEW CLUTCH 

New automotive-type clutch en- 
ables operator to completely sepa- 
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for smooth, effortless shifting. 





m 


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NEW ONE-LEVER 
CONCAVE ADJUSTMENT 

Calibrated lever lets operator 
change concave opening in 
seconds and return to any setting. 
Rock trap protects cylinder and 
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NEW WORLD CHAMPIONS! 

MM Uni-Huskors placed 1st, 2nd 
and 3rd in 1954 International Me- 
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POWER STEERING 

Steer with hydrauUe power OS 
standard equipment. Extra strong 
and stable rear assembly, reserve 
valve prevents breakage. 



Your first look will tell you: this POWERflow Harvester is some- 
thing new in combines! For the all-new SP-168 is the Minneapolis- 
Moline Self-Propelled Harvestor with customer ideas built in! Step 
up to the SP-168— 12-, 13- and 14-foot sizes; also pick-up models— 
and check off money-making advantages like these: 
Far easier handling with the original MM hydraulic power steer- 
ing as standard equipment, new one-lever concave adjustment, one 
dual control stick to regulate ground speed and header height, 
a new easy-to-shift automotive type clutch and variable-speed 
POWERflow hydraulic drive. 

New operator comfort with a large, roomy platform, adjustable 
cushion-type seat, tilted steering wheel, new high leverage brakes, 
heat and noise greatly reduced with an enclosed engine easy to get 
at for service, new quieter-running auger and feeder. 
New strength and wearability with single-unit header and thresher 
body, bridge-trussed structural steel frame, 104 rotating and oscillat- 
ing points that need no lubrication, double roller chain cylinder drive. 

NOBODY OUTFARMS AN MM FARMER! 

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FROM REEL TO STRAW SPREADER . . . 

FASTER THRESHING . . . CLEANER GRAIN! 

1 . Uni-Matic hydraulic controlled cutting height from 2 to 41 inches. 
Also available with new 8 foot floating pick-up attachment. 

2. Feeder raddle spring-loaded fore and aft. Floating bottom keeps 
constant clearance between feeder housing and front beater. 

3. Full-length separating with 3,520 square inches of straw rack 
surface. Return grain pan oscillates separately to prevent 
plugging. 

4. Fish-backed sloping grain pan keeps grain moving steadily on 
hills. 

5. Grain-saver cleaning shoe with adjustable chaffers and sieves. 

6. Twin-reel straw spreader spreads straw evenly— on stubble only. 



JUNE 1955 



453 




Finest gasoline, motor oil, 

fuel oil and other 

petroleum products in 46 years. 

You expect more from 
Utoco ♦ . . and get it! 





June Conference Events 

(Concluded from page 452) 

General Sessions. Room 21, 50 No. Main. 
Box Lunches at noon 90c. 

DANCE 8:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.— General 
Sessions. 1st Ward (760 So. 8th East). 

DRAMA 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.— General 
Sessions. Colonial Hills Ward (1455 So. 
17th East). 12:00 noon — Haywagon 
Theatre presenting prize-winning musical, 
"Once Upon a Friday." Lunch 85c at 
noon. 

MUSIC 7:00 a.m. — Division and District 
Supervisors. 8:00 a.m. — Stake Directors 
and Organists. 9:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. — 
General Sessions for Division, District, 
Stake, and Ward Leaders. South East 
Stake House (2005 So. 9th East). Noon 
Lunch 85c. 

SPEECH 8:00 a.m.— Stake. 10:00 a.m. and 
1:15 p.m. — General Sessions including 
1955-56 Speech Festival: "Power of 
Speech." Douglas Ward (721 So. 12th 
East). 

YW SPORTS 6:30 a.m.— Breakfast for Di- 
vision and District Supervisors (965 
Diestel Road). 8:00 a.m. — Division, Dis- 
trict, Stake Sports-Camp Supervisors. 9:15 
a.m. and 1:00 p.m. — All Sports-Camp Di- 
rectors Sessions. Liberty-Wells Recrea- 
tion Center (7th So. and 4th E.). Lunch 
$1.00. 

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 

7:00 a.m. DIVISION CO-CHAIRMEN, 
Board Room, 50 No. Main. 7:45 a.m. DI- 
VISION AND DISTRICT SUPERVI- 
SORS, Barratt Hall. 

8:00 a.m. TABERNACLE CHOIR BROAD- 
CAST — Tabernacle. 

9:00 a.m. GENERAL SESSION— Under di- 
rection of the General Authorities — Taber- 

1:30 p.m. GENERAL SESSION— Tabernacle, 
"Out of Darkness." 



454 



It's Smart to Be a 
latter-day Saint 

(Continued from page 392) 
precious passport to eternal exalta- 
tion, can do much to set a fine exam- 
ple to the girls and women of our 
Church who have not yet been the 
fortunate recipients of these blessings. 
I felt sad when in one stake several 
young girls questioned me about 
proper clothes for women who had 
been to the temple. They had had 
a very poor example set them by a 
woman who should have known bet- 
ter. Also, one night, a great lady who 
had Latter-day Saint background 
attended an important function 
dressed a little too "bare." At the 
same affair, one of our General Au- 
thorities was in attendance. The 
lady kept her fur stole on all evening! 
That gave me an idea. If each of us, 
married or single, would make every 
dress pass this test: if I were to meet 
the President of this Church, would I 
feel comfortable? 

We talk about being a peculiar 

people, we are — nice peculiar — not 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



queer peculiar. We don't want to 
appear funny or dowdy, neither do we 
want to look crude and vulgar. Why 
don't we create a style of our own? 
We may follow dame fashion in many 
ways, but if we are wise, I will wager 
dame fashion will be following us 
because our girls and women will be 
known as regal, smartly, modestly 
clothed women who have come to the 
realization that it really is smart to be 
a Latter-day Saint. 



Controlling the Past 

(Continued from page 386) 
vailing movements with notorious 
servility — the perfect teacher of vir- 
tue is the text itself. The scholar 
with an ancient text before him may 
do with it as he chooses: He may in- 
sert any vowels he pleases if it is in 
a Semitic language; he may divide up 
consonants into whatever groups 
catch his fancy; he may punctuate to 
taste; he may give any word, allegori- 
cally, any meaning he wants to; in 
short, he can cheat to his heart's con- 
tent. But how far will it get him? 
Every wrong and wilful reading must 
be supported by another one: If one 
word is arbitrarily treated, the next 
must be beaten into conformity with 
it, and the resulting sentence, all 
wrong, must match the next sentence, 
and so on. With every wrong read- 
ing the student gets himself deeper 
into the mud; the farther he carries 
the game the more humiliating it be- 
comes; with every new syllable his 
position becomes more intolerable 
and the future more threatening. In 
the end he gives up and starts all 
over again — the text, unaided and 
alone, has won the day. 

The more one considers the power 
of the written word, the more mirac- 
ulous it appears. The determined and 
desperate efforts to control it which 
we have been describing are a re- 
markable tribute to its uncanny 
capacity to convey the truth regard- 
less of designing men. Within the 
last decade a few simple scrolls have 
successfully overcome the solid and 
determined opposition of scholarly 
consensus and shattered all the fond- 
est beliefs and firmest preconceptions 
of church historians. Church history 
must now be written all over again. 

(Continued on following page) 
JUNE 1955 




America's 
Lightest- 
Running 
Chopper 



Owners of Case Forage Harvesters 
make one comment in common — 
how fast they can chop with the 
tractor power they happen to have. 
That's because of light weight with 
strong, welded construction . . . sim- 
ple design with few moving parts 
... low friction ball and roller bear- 
ings . . . and oil-bath gears. 

or 6 Knives 

for Today's Widest 
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Whether you prefer the low-cost 4-knife standard-cut "210" 
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your forage harvesting — particularly since you also get the 
world's greatest selection of attachments especially designed 
to chop economically any forage crop. These include the 
regular and short-corn row-crop units, windrow pick-up, 
draper and green-chop 60-inch cutterbars ... all providing 
real savings in time and labor, too, since one man can quick- 
change them in a matter of minutes. The same base machine 
also takes the new Corn Harvester unit that picks ears while 
chopping stalks for low-cost feed. 



200" Series 





K<c5*NA'--rv<,\ 



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You can't beat the lower investment and operating costs of 
PTO drive, especially when you have the advantage of light- 
running Case Choppers with capacity to match the power of 
your tractor, whether it be in the 2-plow class or on up to 
big 5 -plow output. If you prefer an engine, however, the 
Model "22 5" is so equipped. See your Case dealer now for 
the chopper of your choice. Ask him about the Case Income 
Payment Plan that lets you buy a machine when you need it, 
pay for it when you have money coming in. For pictorial 
catalog write to J. I. Case Co., Dept. F-445, Racine, Wis; 



455 




Built-in Hole 



Behind the gun opening on this jet interceptor is a 
"blast tube," to protect the plane from high pres- 
sures and gases caused by the firing of the gun. 
Formerly, this tube was machined from solid steel 
bar stock, but has now been replaced with USS 
Stainless Steel Tubes. These tubes are pierced from 
solid steel, and they afford the absolute uniformity 
of wall strength required. 



© 



UNITED STATES STEEL 




An Improvement Era Publication 

A Book — A Man 
A Message 

"Gospel 



rr 



Ideals 

Selections from the Discourses of 

David O. McKay 
$4.00 



at all bookdealers 



Controlling the Past 

(Continued from preceding page) 
and it is to the most vital questions 
of that fascinating subject that we 
must now turn our attention. 

(To he continued) 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

102 E. g., in BASOR 70, p. 21. 

MS M. Mielziner, Introduction to the Tal- 
mud (Cincinnati, 1894), pp. 89f. 

1M F. Dieterici, Die Philosophie der Araber 
im X. Jh.n.Chr. (Leipzig, 1876), pp. 18ff. 

105 Thus Anselm on the enormous difficulty 
of interpreting a translated passage of scrip- 
ture, Cur Deus Homo, I, 18, in Patrol. Lat., 
158:388. 

106 A. Gardiner, in }nl. of Eg. Archaeol. IX 
(1923), p. 6. 

107 This process is illustrated by S. Potter, 
Our Language (Penguin Books, 1953), Ch. 
IV, VII, and passim, with Shakespeare lead- 
ing the parade of innovators. 

10S "Now, comparative philological research 
has definitely proved that the laws which 
govern one language or group of languages 
do not govern another, nor do the laws 
which control linguistic phenomena in one 
period of history hold true of the same 
phenomena in a different age." Thus W. F. 
Albright, in Jnl. Egypt. Archaeol., XI, 19. 

10B Lord Raglan, The Origins of Religion 
(London: Watts, 1949), p. 43. 

""Science News Letter, June 5, 1954. 

m On the closing of the other doors, P. 
Le Corbeiller, "Crystals and the Future of 
Physics," in Scientific American, January 
1953, pp. 50ff. On the new "translation 
machine" (IBM 701) and its limitations, 
see Mina Rees, ("Computers: 1954"), in 
Scientific Monthly, August 1954, pp. U8ff. 
This gadget is simply an electronic diction- 
ary that gives back the one-to-one equiva- 
lents that have been built into it. Where 
such one-to-one relationships do not exist 
between languages, it will not work. 



456 



Irma Had a Headache 

(Continued from page 389) 

Irma could imagine the inadequacy 
Brice was feeling. She wondered 
frantically if there was anything she 
could say that would get them to 
start talking. Maybe they'd be in- 
terested in her plans for the living 
room. She rushed into it, hoping she 
sounded enthusiastic. "So I think 
we should be able to start shopping 
for our new living room suite by this 
time next month. Anyone have a 
choice as to color?" 

Still the three sat without speaking. 
She was afraid Brice's patience was 
beginning to strain at their lack of 
response. In desperation she began 
to tell them what the doctor had said 
today. Faye raised her head, and 
Irma was shocked at the almost hap- 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



py look on her face. Would she 
actually be glad if her mother had a 
collapse? Irma felt that her whole 
world was tipping crazily now. What 
could she do? A newspaper lay on 
the swing beside her with a picture 
of a graduate in cap and gown. That 
was it. She could ask Jill about her 
new dress for Senior day. "Uh, Jill, 
have you decided what sort of dress 
you'd like? Graduation isn't far 
away, you know." 

To Irma's consternation, Jill burst 
into noisy weeping and jumped up, 
intending to rush into the house. 
Brice's voice stopped her. "Sit down, 
Jill! Now be sensible and tell your 
mother what she asked you." Jill 
sank down on the step mumbling, "I 
don't want any dress. Won't be 
needing one." Then more loudly, 
"What do I want a graduation dress 
for? I quit school last Monday." 
Brice and Irma sat stunned. Jill was 
crying again. Irma said softly, "Why, 
Jill? Why did you quit?" 

"Why shouldn't I quit?" The girl 
cried defiantly. "I was going to 
flunk chemistry anyway. I couldn't 
graduate without my chemistry cred- 
its, and I'm certainly not going back 
next year and take that old stuff all 
over again. Not with those stupid 
juniors!" 

Irma sighed with relief. Bad as it 
was, it wasn't as bad as her wild 
imaginings had been. "Jill, it will be 
all right. I'll go with you to your 
chemistry teacher tomorrow. Maybe 
he'll let you make up the work. I 
don't remember too much about 
chemistry, but I'm sure we can work 
it out together. Of course you'll 
graduate, darling. Daddy and I will 
be sitting right there watching you 
walk down the aisle. And we'll be 
the proudest parents in the hall." 
Jill's face was turned up now, wet, 
but radiant with hope. Brice took 
his handkerchief and held it out to 
his daughter with a twinkle. "Keep 
the smile, Jill, but wipe off the water- 
fall." 

Irma saw Anthon and Faye talk- 
ing together in whispers. She heard 
Faye say, "Go on. They might not 
be too mad." 

"Was there something you wanted 
to tell us about your bike, Anthon?" 
Irma thought a little prompting 
might help. 

"I don't know why I need to. 
Actually it's all settled. I broke his 
(Continued on following page) 
JUNE 1955 




the Goldfish 

he's part of the fun 
of family dinner in the 

COFFEE SHOP 



Hotel Utah 



Max Carpenter, Manager 



IMPROVEMENT ERAS 



l/l/iil be uL5ouncl 
^^Tuncidomeiu for 
ontu * jp" 

... in the West's finest bindery at the Deseret 
News Press. Retain for permanent use the excellent 
instruction and outstanding articles of lasting inter- 
est that appear monthly in your Improvement Era. 
You may have your editions of the Era handsomely 
bound now in cloth-covered book form with gold 
stamping. Cost is just $3 (pre-paid), plus neces- 
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457 



(Continued from preceding page) 

window, and he took my bike to pay 
for it, that's all." 

Brice leaned forward frowning. 
"Whose window? When did this 
happen?" 

Anthon hunched his shoulders 
nervously. "It was in front of that 
secondhand shop, the one they call 
Junky Joe's. I was riding along, and 
a kid on another bike gave me a 
shove, and I crashed sideways into 
the window. The thing had been 
cracked a long time ago, but the guy 
came hollering out and said I'd have 
to pay for it right there. I didn't 
have any money, so he said I'd have 
to give him my bike. So I did, and 
that's all there is to it." 

"But, Anthon, that cracked shop 
window wasn't worth nearly as much 
as your bicycle. It was practically 
new. Anthon, why didn't you tell 
Daddy or me?" 

"What's the use? You are always 
so cross and tired. I quit trying to 
tell you anything a long time ago." 

"Is that why you didn't tell us 
about your chemistry, Jill? Because 



IRMA HAD A HEADACHE 

we were always too tired and cross?" 
asked Brice. 

"Yes, but I could see why you 
were. Mother trying to keep up with 
the housework and keep her job go- 
ing, too. And I guess you have so 
many people's worries to cope with 
all day, naturally you'd just want 
peace and quiet when you get home." 

Irma thought, what a sweet, under- 
standing girl she is! I've been miss- 
ing a great deal. But I was doing it 
for their sakes. 

Faye was picking bits of fluff off 
the hem of her skirt. "Mom, suppos- 
ing you did quit. I mean, like the 
doctor said. Would everything crash 
in? Would we still have food to eat 
and things?" 

"Darling, it's just that I want the 
house to look nice so that we'll have 
a homey atmosphere. I thought you 
might stay home more, maybe invite 
your crowd in for parties sometimes. 
The way it is now you must be 
ashamed to have your friends come 
home with you." 

The three teen-agers all burst into 
talk at the same time. The only 



thing Irma could make out of it was 
they were protesting something. "Hey, 
wait a minute! One at a time! Jill, 
what were you saying?" 

"Good grief, Mother, is that why 
you've been working? We're not 
ashamed of our house. Why, Lennie 
doesn't have any rug at all on her 
living room floor, and we always 
have a gang over there. You oughta 
know, Mom, that it isn't the things 
you have in a house that counts. It's 
how it feels in your house. And ours 
hasn't had a good feeling for a long, 
long time." 

"Yeah," Anthon broke in, "I read 
some place that a home without a 
mother is just a place to leave from 
and come back to. And I said to 
myself, 'That's just what ours is.' 
Will you quit, Mom?" He was pull- 
ing urgently on her fingers. "It sure 
would be wonderful. I can remember 
how you used to bake homemade 
bread and cinnamon rolls and the best 
things. The kitchen always smelled 
so good. Now it seems like all we 
eat is what is in a paper bag or a can." 

Brice put both arms around Irma 



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458 



THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



and squeezed. "Well, honey, I guess 
we'd better tell Mr. Holbrook to give 
you back to your family. He may 
want your help, but they need and 
want you more." 

Anthon jumped up and began kick- 
ing the edge of the porch out of sheer 
exuberance. "Could we even have 
Family Night like we used to? Like 
all of us singing or just talking? Those 
used to be the keenest times we ever 
had." 

Irma felt the contagion of their 
elation rising in her. The thought of 
not having to carry the double bur- 
den any longer was a wonderful re- 
lief. "Of course we'll have Family 
Nights, and I don't know what's 
wrong with tonight. O.K.? Jill, you 
get that can of popcorn that's been 
gathering dust on the shelf. Anthon, 
you can get some apples out of the 
crisper. Faye, do you think you can 
find a good recipe for peanut brittle?" 

Anthon heaved a sigh that must 
have come up from his shoes. "Gee! 
It feels like we're really a family 
again!" 

Reaching a hand up to touch her 
husband's face, Irma thought she saw 
the children's happiness reflected in 
his soft brown eyes. 



Just the Groom 

(Continued from page 391) 

loved her all those years, even though 
his mother called it "puppy love," 
supposing that when he grew up and 
went to college things would change. 

She reached her hands out futilely, 
almost as though she would stop the 
years that had gone past like tumble- 
weeds in a windstorm. In high school 
they were going "steady," she was 
wearing "heels" to the high school 
prom. He had asked his mother 
about a corsage, saying, "Some of the 
boys are buying orchids," and his 
tanned forehead creased, "but I can't 
afford it — on my allowance." 

She hesitated, then sensing how im- 
portant it could be to a boy, she said, 
"I might let you have a couple of 
dollars from the grocery money." 

For a moment he looked at her 
hopefully, then said, "Thanks, Mom, 
but I'd have to pay it back next week, 
and next week there's the game and 

(Continued on following page) 
JUNE 1955 



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JUST THE GROOM 

(Continued from preceding page) much corsaging in my day, but I've 

stuff." After a pause, he asked her, always loved yellow roses, talisman, 

"What kind of flowers would you they call them." 

like?" "Gee, her dress is blue. The yel- 

She laughed, "We didn't do so low ought to be just right." 



'%t to 



con 



demn, . . . but to Save . . . 

Richard L. Evans 



f\F the seventh day preceding Easter, John the Beloved and 
^ others record how the multitude acknowledged the 
Master for what he was: the King of Israel, Messiah, and 
Savior. Less than one week later, with false accusation and 
the mockeries of men, he was on the cross — and there were 
death and darkness and despair. But these were followed 
by dawn and light and life, by resurrection and redemption 
from death. Some nineteen centuries have passed since then, 
and the "opposition in all things" is still sharply in evidence: 
Still there is the struggle of evil and good, error and truth, 
darkness and light, death and life. But despite all discourage- 
ments, and sometimes despair, there is the blessed reassuring 
certainty that the Lord God who gave us life and made us 
in his image will, with our willingness, lead us to further 
light, to fuller life, and happiness. For this cause were all 
the commandments given — and for this he sent his Only 
Begotten Son not to condemn, but to save the world 1 — that 
same Beloved Son who said: "They that be whole need not 
a physician, but they that are sick" 2 — that same Beloved Son 
who said: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy 
laden, and I will give you rest." 3 And to the sick, the suffer- 
ing, the sorrowing, to the injured and offended, to the puz- 
zled and perplexed, to those withdrawn within themselves, 
to the falsely dealt with and deceived, to those who have 
lost their loved ones, to those who live in loneliness — to all, 
there is help from him who even now sits at his Father's 
side, and who was sent to encourage, to help, to heal, to 
love, to lift the lives of men, to lead the way to happiness 
and everlasting life. What else would any father wish for 
his children? What else would we wish for our own — but 
happiness and everlasting life with our loved ones? And for 
this cause are all the counsels and commandments of God 
given. There are no unessential commandments, none that 
we can safely ignore or set aside (unless God shall withdraw 
it or declare it fulfilled). And blessedly, the same sure things 
that lead to happiness hereafter, lead also to happiness here. 
We would say, in words recorded by John: "For God sent 
not his Son into the world to condemn the world" but to 
save. We would say, in the words uttered at the hour of his 
ascension, that ". . . this same Jesus . . . shall so come in 
like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." 4 And 
we would say in the words of Job, but with conviction of 
our own: "... I know that my redeemer liveth 



"5 



Jke 



~S)/?oteen lA/ord from temple square 

PRESENTED OVER KSL AND THE COLUMBIA BROADCASTING 



SYSTEM, APRIL 3, 1955 



Copyright, 1955 



!See John 3:17. 
^Matthew 9:12. 
s Ibid., 11:28. 
*Acts 1:11. 
5 Job 19:25. 



460 



THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



"Prettier than an orchid, I'd think." 

"Would you, Mom? Gee." He 
was slicking back his hair. His school 
ring shone on the tanned, slender 
fingers. 

When they planned the wedding, 
he remembered, saying, "We want 
talisman roses for you, don't we?" 

Her dress for the reception was 
toast brown lace, and the yellow 
roses were perfect. The fact that he 
had remembered for so long brought 
the swift tears — which seemed so near 
the surface — to her eyes. Yet, even 
then, she kept thinking, "It isn't 
true. It's all a dream. He's still a 
hoy." 

Drawing herself back to the pres- 
ent, she felt a quick awareness of the 
time. They should soon be leaving 
for the temple. As she stood up, the 
car came to a halt outside, Kent 
leaped out, ran up the walk, onto the 
porch. Soon he was facing her, his 
hair smooth and clipped (after the 
bull-dog phase), his face pink from 
his first tonsorial shave. 

"Jeepers, Mother," he cried, "aren't 
you ready? We have to be there in 
an hour." 

"That's plenty of time," she as- 
sured him, "I'm bathed. Don't get 
excited." 

Suddenly, his machinery seemed to 
slow down a bit as he realized that 
he had spoken sharply, and that there 
wouldn't be a tomorrow here when 
he could make it up to her. He came 
over to her, put his hands upon her 
shoulders, whispering, "Sorry." 

She put her face against his, which 
smelled of talcum, and held him brief- 
ly. For a moment, neither of them 
spoke, then he said, hoarsely, "Thanks 
— for everything." 

She whispered, "Oh, thank you," 
while she felt they were playing one 
of the games they had played in his 
childhood. 

Her husband came through the 
door then and paused at the sight of 
them. He was pale for a moment, 
and his eyes didn't seem to focus 
right. She smiled, reached her hand 
out to him. 

"EVERYTHING was right at the recep- 
•^ tion — music, flowers, the line. 
Rosemary was a perfect bride — slim 
and sweet and gracious, beautiful in 
the exquisite gown. 

Friends, neighbors, relatives had 
been coming in crowds. Just for a 
(Concluded on following page) 
JUNE 1955 



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461 




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Just the Groom 

(Concluded from preceding page) 

moment, there was a lull. Julia's 
glance skimmed past her husband, the 
best man, the bride. Then, her eyes 
rested on her son, wondering how it 
could be that now he was hers no 
longer. 

As though he felt her eyes, he 
turned, looked into them. She smiled, 
and he straightened the maroon tie, 
shrugged his shoulders to better fit 
the rented white tux. 

He winked at her as he lifted his 
hand and swept it across his dark 
hair — just above the left ear— and 
she noticed, with shock, with sur- 
prise, how suddenly large his hand 
looked with the wide wedding band 
upon it. 

He was indeed a man. And, he 
was still her boy, but he was Rose- 
mary's more. And, God willing, the 
father of proud generations yet to 
come. 



The Story of Martin Harris 

(Continued from page 387) 

In the Nauvoo period of the 
Church, we had the publication, 
Times and Seasons. On January 2, 
1843, there was printed a letter from 
Justin Brooks to the Prophet Joseph 
Smith which had been written from 
Kirtland, Ohio, November 7, 1842. 
Brother Brooks says in part: 

Twelve persons were baptized yesterday 
and information has just reached me that 
Brother Martin Harris has been baptized 
and is now on his way home from the 
water. 5 

The Daughters of Utah Pioneers 
have published a letter dated from 
Nauvoo July 18 (no year date) and 
addressed to "Remembered Friend:" 
It is signed by Laura Pitkin and car- 
ries this postscript: 

Brother Joseph received a letter from Kirt- 
land last week. Martin Harris has come 
into the church. Oliver Cowdery is very 
friendly and have prosperous times in that 
place. W. W. Phelps has also written to 
Brother Joseph, makes a humble confession 
and wishes to be received into the church. 

In the fall of 1846 Martin Harris 
was preaching in England against the 
Church, but accomplished little. Back 



STimes and Seasons (Nauvoo, 111. 1843), IV:63. 

°Heart Throbs of the West, (Salt Lake City, 1944), 
V;382. The original letter is the property of the 
Daughters of Utah Pioneers. 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



in the United States, on January 
23, 1847, at a meeting of the Whit- 
merites, it was moved by William E. 
M'Lellin and seconded by Martin 
Harris that this group, forty-two in 
number, take upon them the name of 
"The Church of Christ," "and wear 
it henceforth — shorn of all append- 
ages or alterations." 7 

This report from Elder Thomas 
Colburn was published in the St. 
Louis Luminary, May 5, 1855. 

We called at Kirtland, found a few that 
called themselves Saints, but very weak, 
many apostates who had mostly joined the 
rappers. We had a lengthy interview with 
Martin Harris. ... He confessed that he 
had lost confidence in Joseph Smith, conse- 
quently his mind became darkened, and he 
was left to himself; he tried the Shakers, 
but they would not do, then tried Gladden 
Bishop, but no satisfaction; had concluded 
he would wait until the Saints returned to 
Jackson County, and then he would repair 
there. He gave us a history of the coming 
forth of the Book of Mormon; his going to 
New York and presenting the characters 
to Professor Anthon, etc., concluded before 
we left that "Brigham Young was Governor," 
and that the authorities were there and that 
he should go there as soon as he could get 
away. 8 

And this report in Salt Lake City 
some three years later: 

Dr. John Clinton gave President Young an 
account of his trip across the plains. In- 
cluded in the report was the statement that 
Martin Harris and William Smith were at 
Kirtland, Ohio, and had organized a 
church of their own. 

Little wonder then, that when 
Martin Harris did come to the valley 
of the mountains in his eighty-eighth 
year, in 1870, the Deseret News con- 
sistently called him "Mr. Harris," un- 
til he had re-entered the waters of 
baptism. In one editorial, Elder 
George Q. Cannon wrote: 

Mr. Harris saw fit to withdraw himself 
from the cause, but its course, owing to the 
workings of Divinity through faithful agents, 
has been onward to a most remarkable de- 
gree. The Saints, by thousands, have been 
gathered from the nations, a territory has 
been peopled and the foundation of a king- 
dom laid which will never again be uprooted 
from the earth; and Martin Harris, no 
longer able to resist the conviction that God 
still guides and controls the destinies of 
His kingdom and people, gladly returns to 
share in their blessings and privileges of 
that kingdom. 10 



''Ibid., IV:433. 

8 St. Louis Luminary, May 5, 1855, p. 2. Letter is 
dated May 2, 1855. 

"Journal History, May 18, 1858. 

10 The Deseret News (weekly) Salt Lake City, Sep- 
tember 7, 1870. 



(To be concluded) 



*>■«% 



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463 



Preparing for the Melchizedek Priesthood 



Importance of Holding the Priest- 
hood 

First — Priesthood Defined 
In the October, 1954, issue of The 
Improvement Era, the fact was made 
clear that priesthood is the power of 
God by which all his works, both in 
heaven and earth, were and are ac- 
complished. It was pointed out that 
from age to age throughout the vari- 
ous gospel dispensations priesthood 
has always been the divine channel 
for revealing knowledge to the hu- 
man family. Also, it is a fact that the 
priesthood held by members of the 
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day 
Saints is the power of God which he 
has delegated to them for them to act 
in his stead here on the earth. 

Second — Priesthood's Value in Our 
Lives 

Priesthood holds the sealing power 
of all gospel ordinances, such sealing 
power being necessary for the exal- 
tation in the celestial realms of those 
who love^the Lord and have kept his 
commandments. For example, it is 
through the power of the Holy Mel- 
chizedek Priesthood, added to their 
faithfulness, that men and women re- 
ceive the blessings of celestial mar- 
riage, being sealed by the Holy Spirit 
of promise to a glorious exaltation 1 
wherein they receive eternal life, 
which modern revelation declares to 
be the greatest of God's gifts. 2 Paul, 
the apostle to the gentiles, pointed 
out that exaltation is of such inesti- 
mable worth that 

. . . Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
neither have entered into the heart of man, 
the things which God hath prepared for 
them that love him. 3 

It is evident, therefore, that each 
male member of the Church should 
clearly understand that ranking fore- 
most among the prized blessings that 
he can receive would be to have the 
Holy Melchizedek Priesthood be- 

!D. & C. 132:19-23. 
"Ibid., 14:7; 11:7; 66:12. 
3 I Cor. 2:9. 

464 



stowed upon him, and then by mag- 
nifying that priesthood his blessings 
would be greater than the wealth of 
the world. 



Preparation for the Melchizedek 
Priesthood 

First — Preparing Boys and Men 
for the Melchizedek Priesthood 

The Aaronic Priesthood has been 
brought from heaven to earth in this 
gospel dispensation as an appendage 
to the Melchizedek Priesthood for the 
specific purpose of preparing its hold- 
ers for the higher or Melchizedek 
Priesthood; 4 and so the General Au- 
thorities wholeheartedly sustain the 
Aaronic Priesthood programs — both 
for the boys and for those who be- 
long to the senior Aaronic groups — 
which programs have been estab- 
lished under inspiration from the 
Lord. The General Authorities urge 
bishoprics, branch presidencies, and 
officers in the various auxiliary or- 
ganizations throughout the entire 
Church to push forward with all their 
hearts, might, minds, and strength 
all of the programs which have been 
established to assist in preparing 
boys and men to receive the Holy 
Melchizedek Priesthood. Full en- 
dorsement and support of the Gen- 
eral Authorities are extended to the 
marvelous Aaronic Priesthood pro- 
gram, as well as the work of the aux- 
iliaries, which — under the inspiration 
of heaven — are being carried forward 
throughout the Church; and they 
commend all officers and teachers in 
the various organizations for their 
diligence and good works in assist- 
ing in preparing boys and men for 
the Melchizedek Priesthood. 

Bishoprics and others concerned 
are reminded that they at all times 
should be cognizant of the fact that 
Aaronic Priesthood holders will be- 
fore long receive the Melchizedek 
Priesthood, and many of them will 
be called into the various positions 



4 D. & C. 107:13-17. 



of leadership in the Church and 
thereby inherit the responsibility of 
carrying forward its programs. Thus, 
every possible effort should be made 
to keep all the boys in line with the 
gospel principles, conforming their 
lives to Church standards, in order 
that they might remain worthy and 
at the proper time be advanced to 
the Melchizedek Priesthood. The men 
in the senior Aaronic groups should 
be worked with patiently, persistent- 
ly, and intelligently in order that 
they will overcome any habits which 
have kept them from receiving the 
Melchizedek Priesthood; and as soon 
as they are worthy, they should re- 
ceive that priesthood. 

Second— Purpose to Prepare All 
Latter-day Saint Males for the 
Melchizedek Priesthood 

It is the avowed purpose of the 
leadership of the Church, assisted and 
sustained by the holders of the Mel- 
chizedek Priesthood throughout the 
entire Church, to prepare all male 
members for the higher priesthood in 
order that they may receive a fulness 
of the blessings of the gospel of Jesus 
Christ. In order to achieve this goal, 
the complete Aaronic Priesthood pro- 
gram should be pushed forward vig- 
orously; and, each boy of Aaronic 
Priesthood age should be the direct 
concern of the leaders and his activi- 
ties guided by them continuously. In 
relationship to the boys under their 
charge, those called to positions of 
leadership should at all times put into 
operation Jesus' parables of "The 
Lost Sheep," "The Lost Coin," and 
"The Good Samaritan." 

Also, an excellent program has 
been inaugurated for the benefit of 
the senior members of the Aaronic 
Priesthood. The General Authorities 
hereby encourage the bishoprics and 
their assistants throughout the entire 
Church to put into operation the 
complete program for the men who 
hold the Aaronic Priesthood and vig- 
orously carry it forward, remember- 
ing at all times that the worth of a 
human soul is precious in the sight 
of the Lord. The leaders are encour- 
aged to organize into quorums all the 
men who hold the Aaronic Priesthood, 
to instruct them in the ways of right- 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



Priesthood 



eousness, to encourage them to keep 
the commandments, and in such cases 
as needed, to help them to adjust 
their habits to Church standards, 
thereby preparing themselves to re- 
ceive the Melchizedek Priesthood. 
Following its reception and as a re- 
sult of their continuance of keeping 
God's commandments, these brethren 
will prepare themselves for the higher 
ordinances of the gospel. 

Selecting Men for the Melchize- 
dek Priesthood 

First — Choose Only the Worthy 
Men to Receive the Melchizedek 
Priesthood 
Even though every conceivable ef- 
fort has been exerted to induce cer- 
tain men who belong to the Church 
to prepare themselves to receive the 
Melchizedek Priesthood, they refuse 
to comply. Under those conditions, 
they should not be given the Mel- 
chizedek Priesthood until they be- 
come worthy; however, those holding 
responsible positions of leadership 
should patiently and persistently con- 
tinue to labor with them. 

Before men are ordained to the 
Melchizedek Priesthood, they should 
have proved their fitness for such a 
great blessing and holy calling. Their 
worthiness to hold the priesthood and 
their advancement therein should be 
determined by their lives within the 
gospel fold. Those who receive the 
Melchizedek Priesthood should be 
men who fearlessly abide by the com- 
mandments which God has given, 
dedicating themselves to the work of 
the Lord and the upbuilding of the 
kingdom. On this subject, the Lord 
has instructed as follows: 

There has been a day of calling, for the 
time has come for a day of choosing; and 
let those be chosen that are worthy. 

And it shall be manifest unto my ser- 
vant, by the voice of the Spirit, those that 
are chosen; and they shall be sanctified; 

And inasmuch as they follow council 
which they receive, they shall have power 
after many days to accomplish all things 
pertaining to Zion. 5 

Thus, men must prove themselves 
worthy to receive the Melchizedek 



Priesthood by living righteously and 
conforming their lives to the words 
of eternal life. Should they receive 
the priesthood unworthily, it would 
not be a blessing to them but may 
prove a curse, for the Lord had de- 
clared: 

For of him unto whom much is given 
much is required; and he who sins against 
the greater light shall receive the greater 
condemnation. 

Second — Those Whom the Lord 
Chooses 

In modern revelation, the Lord has 
warned the male members of his 
Church with the following forceful 
language: 

Behold, there are many called but few 
are chosen. And why are they not chosen? 

Because their hearts are set so much upon 
the things of this world, and aspire to the 
honors of men, that they do not learn this 
one lesson — 

That the rights of the priesthood are in- 
separably connected with the powers of 
heaven, and that the powers of heaven can- 
not be controlled nor handled only upon 
the principles of righteousness. 

That they may be conferred upon us, it 
is true; but when we undertake to cover 
our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain 
ambition, or to exercise control or dominion 
or compulsion upon the souls of the chil- 
dren of men, in any degree of unrighteous- 
ness, behold, the heavens withdraw them- 
selves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; 
and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the 
priesthood or the authority of that man. 7 

Third — A Caution to Presiding 
Stake Officers 

The following instructions are giv- 
en in the Melchizedek Priesthood 
Handbook (pp. 64-65) as a caution 
to the presiding stake officers: 

For a long time the General Authorities 
of the Church have felt that not enough 
care has been exercised in ordaining men 
to offices in the priesthood. There are in 
the Church thousands of men holding the 
Melchizedek Priesthood who are inactive. 
Many of these men, when they were or- 
dained, did not understand the full mean- 
ing of priesthood nor the obligation they 
accepted to magnify their callings. The 
Lord has made very clear in several revela- 
tions, notably sections 20:38-66; 84:32-42; 
and the entire revelation known as Section 
107 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the 



importance of faithfulness and cleanliness 
of life on the part of those who are or- 
dained to the priesthood. 

This laxity in ordaining has resulted in 
many brethren, who have received the 
priesthood and were not really worthy, re- 
turning to their evil habits and indifferent 
ways, if these were ever forsaken. Because 
of this condition, presiding officers of stakes 
are asked to use care and discretion in ap- 
proving candidates for ordination and to 
be sure that they are living in full accord 
with the principles of the gospel and the 
doctrines of the Church. Moreover, presid- 
ing officers should faithfully impress upon 
all candidates for ordination the serious- 
ness and responsibility which ordination to 
the priesthood entails and the grave con- 
sequences of disobedience or the violation 
of the covenants which are received when 
offices in the priesthood are conferred. 

Oath and Covenant of the Priest- 
hood 

Every member of the Church of 
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is 
very fortunate to be privileged to 
live in the age of the world's history 
when the Lord has made it possible 
for all male members to receive the 
Melchizedek Priesthood on condition 
of their worthiness and enjoy the 
blessings provided therein. 

All those who receive the Holy 
Melchizedek Priesthood receive it 
with "an oath and covenant." The 
covenant is that they ". . . give dili- 
gent heed to the words of eternal 
life." 8 The Lord hath declared: "For 
you shall live by every word that 
proceedeth forth from the mouth of 
God." s In other words, when men re- 
ceive the Melchizedek Priesthood, 
they enter into a covenant with God 
that they will be diligent in their 
efforts to magnify their callings in 
that priesthood and earnestly strive 
to the best of their abilities to keep 
every one of his commandments. 

On the other hand, God's part of 
this covenant, which he seals with 
an oath, is that if priesthood holders 
keep all of the commandments and 
magnify their priesthood to the best 
of their abilities, Jesus Christ de- 
clared: 

... all that my Father hath shall be 
given unto him. 

(Continued on page 477) 



mid., 105:35-37. 

JUNE 1955 



mid., 82:3; Luke 12:48; 2 Ne. 9:23-27. 
TD. & C. 121:34-37. 



mid., 84:43. 
■'Ibid., 84:44. 



465 




The p res icli n g 



Suggestions For Aaronic Priesthood Bearers Officiating In The Sacrament Service 



The following recommendations, cov- 
ering the administration and passing 
of the sacrament, are passed on to our 
stake and ward committees for Aaronic 
Priesthood under 21 for immediate and 
continuous consideration and attention: 

1. No person is to receive the sacra- 
ment until after the "highest authority" 
who is sitting on the stand, has been 
served. 

2. Immediately when the "highest au- 
thority," who is sitting on the stand, has 
received the sacrament, all others, both 
on the stand and in the congregation, 
are to receive the sacrament in their 
turn without further preference to au- 
thority or positions held. 

3. The sacrament should not be 
passed to persons attending other meet- 
ings in the meetinghouse during the 
sacrament meeting time even though 
they may be listening to the sacrament 
prayers broadcast over a public address 
system. Therefore, only those actually 
attending the sacrament meeting, hear- 
ing and assenting to the sacrament 
prayers, are to receive the sacrament. 

4. Under no circumstance should the 
sacrament be passed to anyone on the 
outside of the building. 

5. Those passing the sacrament are 
not to assist the priests at the sacrament 
table in any way while the meeting is 
in progress. 

6. Unless a young man is excused by 
the bishop, he should remain for the 
full sacrament meeting time after he 



has assisted in passing the sacrament. 
This recommendation applies also to 
those who officiate at the sacrament 
table. 

7. Aaronic Priesthood members mov- 
ing from one location in the chapel to 
another, following the administration of 
the sacrament, should be taught to do 
so reverently, avoiding all unnecessary 
noise or disturbance. Any such move- 
ments should be with the approval of 
the bishopric or they should be avoided. 

8. The bishopric, secretary, and quo- 
rum advisers should insist on order and 
exemplary behavior, throughout the en- 
tire meeting, on the part of Aaronic 
Priesthood members who officiate in the 
sacrament service. 

9. We should not feel that the pass- 
ing of the sacrament is the duty of the 
deacons only. Bishoprics will do well 
occasionally to assign the teachers and 
priests to pass the sacrament and thus 
avoid the encouragement of any false 



notions concerning this priesthood re- 
sponsibility and privilege. 

10. It is recommended that young men 
bearing the Aaronic Priesthood, pref- 
erably teachers, be assigned the re- 
sponsibility of preparing the sacrament 
table before the meeting begins. This 
would include filling the trays with 
water and providing a sufficient quanti- 
ty of sliced unbroken bread and placing 
clean white linen under and over the 
trays when placed on the table. Ex- 
treme care should be exercised in keep- 
ing the trays free from surplus water. 

11. Young women, where desired, may 
be given the responsibility of taking care 
of the linens and the sacrament trays 
following the sacrament meeting. These 
appurtenances should be kept spotlessly 
clean at all times. 

12. Any surplus bread left over may 
be eaten for food and should not be 
wasted. When eaten as food, the broken 
bread has no sacramental significance. 





Long Beach (California) Stake presidency and stake committee are shown with the 
twenty-eight Aaronic Priesthood members who maintained a one hundred percent attend- 
ance at priesthood and sacrament meeting for the year 1954. 



NINETY-ONE PERCENT 
QUALIFIED FOR AWARD 




466 



Bountiful Third Ward, 
Bountiful (Utah) Stake, qual- 
ifies ninety-one percent for 
Individual Aaronic Priesthood 
Awards for 1954. This is a 
remarkable record for such a 
large enrolment. The bish- 
opric and quorum advisers 
are included in the photo- 
graph. 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



Bishoprics Page 




Prepared by Lee A. Palmer 



THREE BROTHERS DISPLAY AWARDS 





Teach Priesthood Bearers To Be Punctual 




James, John, and Eugene Roberts, brothers, 
all priests, Bountiful Ninth Ward, Bounti- 
ful (Utah) Stake, have earned and received 
seventeen individual Aaronic Priesthood 
awards (including three for 1954) since 
they were ordained deacons. 



AWARD REPORT FOR 1954 
(As of May 1, 1955) 

Stake Awards 18 

Ward Awards 555 

100% Seals 2,735 

Aaronic Priesthood Pins 5,804 

Priests 6,303 

Teachers 6,339 

Deacons 8,363 

Total Individual Awards ....21,005 



NAMPA SECOND WARD, NAMPA 
(IDAHO) STAKE SETS RECORD 
All members of the deacons and teachers 
quorums, Nampa Second Ward, Nampa 
(Idaho) Stake, qualified for the Individual 
Aaronic Priesthood Award for 1954. The 
ward qualified eighty percent of the total 
enrollment. 



What is being done in your ward, in 
your quorum, to overcome indiffer- 
ence to punctuality on the part of 
Aaronic Priesthood members? 

We think it very likely there is not 
a ward in the Church without this 
problem in some measure. In some 
areas, the habit of being late in attend- 
ing meetings or keeping appointments 
has developed to alarming proportions 
in some of our boys. 

All Aaronic Priesthood leaders are 
asked to make punctuality a project to 
be worked on wherever, and as long as, 
necessary. 

To do the job effectively in the ward 
will require work with all Aaronic 



Priesthood bearers as a group and with 
individuals. Please do not overlook the 
individual. Be kind and understanding 
but persist in your efforts to persuade 
boys away from any indifference to 
keeping appointments as promised, and 
attending meetings on time. 

Another matter is that too often 
Aaronic Priesthood boys attend a meet- 
ing only long enough to insure their 
credit in the award program. We sug- 
gest careful attention be given to this 
infraction wherever it exists. Our boys 
are expected to be punctual and to re- 
main for the full time of the particular 
meeting. 



CHALLENGING RECORDS IN ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS 








Lovell Shumway 



Lael Hoopes 



David Sorenson 



Lovell and Lael are both from the Star Valley (Wyoming) Stake, the former 
from the Osmond Ward, the latter from the Fairview Ward. 

Lovell has a one hundred percent attendance record at sacrament and priest- 
hood meetings for seven years while in the Aaronic Priesthood. Lael has the same 
perfect attendance record for six years. 

David, American Fork First Ward, Alpine (Utah) Stake has attended all sacra- 
ment and priesthood meetings for five years. 




JUNE 1955 



467 



Gladys D. 

Wight 




'Buffet Suppers Qladys 




by Iris Parker 



Everything Gladys Wight does, she 
does with earnestness and en- 
thusiasm and kindness. And per- 
haps her most outstanding quality is 
kindness — generosity. She is extremely 
thoughtful and big-hearted, loved by 
everyone. She enjoys cooking for her 
family, and many a Sunday there are 
more than a dozen people to dinner. 
She is famous for her buffet suppers 
on the patio of her home — and her 
favorite party food or everyday food 
is poultry. The reason is simple — her 
husband, Reed J. Wight, is in the 
poultry processing business. 

Here are some recipes for turkey 
and chicken dishes, as well as some 
of Gladys' other favorites: 

Fried Chicken in Batter 

1 egg 

1 cup milk 

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
l l / 2 teaspoons sugar 
1 teaspoon salt 

1 frying chicken (2 1 / 2 to 3 pounds) 
* cut in pieces 

Beat eggs and stir in milk. Add sifted 
dry ingredients and beat until smooth. 
Dip pieces of chicken in batter and fry 
in fat heated in deep fryer to 365° F. 
Cook large pieces first, for about 15 min- 
utes. Fry backs and wings about 13 
minutes, liver for one minute. Drain on 
paper toweling. 

Chicken can be fried without batter, 
if desired. Salt after frying. Serves two 
to three. 

Chafing Dish Chicken 

4 tablespoons butter or margarine 
4 tablespoons flour 



2 cups milk 
1 teaspoon salt 
l /g teaspoon white pepper 
1 cup canned green peas 

1 cup cooked chicken, diced 

2 cups corn chips. 

Make a sauce of the butter or marga- 
rine, flour, milk, and seasonings. Add 
peas and chicken. Crush corn chips 
and put on top. 

Turkey Steaks 

Dip in milk and then flour. Fry in 
vegetable fat until brown. Place in 
casserole or baking pan. Add 1 can un- 
diluted mushroom soup. Sprinkle with 
paprika. Bake for one-half hour in 
moderate oven. 

Rice Souffle 

1 cup rice (steamed in 2 I / 2 cups water) 

1 medium green pepper (ground) 
Y 2 cup onion, chopped 

2 cups grated cheese 
1 cup milk 

Y 2 teaspoon salt 

1 scant cup chopped parsley 
y 2 cup melted butter 

2 eggs 

Mix together, saving one-half cup 
cheese for topping. Bake one hour at 
350° F. 

Mustard Ring (to serve with ham) 

4 eggs 
y 4 cup sugar 
3 tablespoons powdered mustard 
1 cup malt vinegar (dilute vinegar if 
too strong) 
Salt to taste 
1 pint whipping cream 
V/ 2 tablespoons gelatin 

Beat eggs and add sugar, mustard, and 
vinegar. Soak gelatin in one-half cup 
water and add to egg mixture. Cook 
until creamy. Let cool and gently add 
whipped cream. Add a few drops of 



yellow coloring to gelatin. Put in ring 
mold. Pimiento and parsley can be 
added if desired. 

Spoon Bread 

1 cup shortening 

2 tablespoons salt 
2 tablespoons sugar 

2 yeast cakes (dissolved in one-half cup 

warm water) 

3 cups flour 

4 eggs, beaten in one at a time 

Mix the above ingredients well. Add 
enough flour to make sticky dough (6 to 
8 cups). Let rise until double in bulk. 
Knead down. Pinch off pieces size of 
walnut. Roll in melted butter, cinna- 
mon and sugar (1 cup sugar and 2 tea- 
spoons cinnamon), and chopped nuts. 
Stagger in well-buttered angel food pan 
until pan is half full. Let rise to within 
one inch of top. Bake 50 minutes at 
350°. Put foil in oven to catch butter 
that seeps out of pan. 

This recipe will make two pans of 
bread. 

Spiced Tomato Juice 

5 cups tomato juice 

6 tablespoons brown sugar 
6 whole cloves 

2 sticks cinnamon 
4 slices lemon 

Combine all ingredients and bring to 
a boil. Simmer for five minutes and 
strain. Serve warm with cheese sticks. 
Makes 8 to 10 cups. 

Brownies 

2 heaping tablespoons shortening 

4 squares chocolate 

2 cups sugar 

4 eggs 

2 teaspoons vanilla 

\ x / 2 cups flour 

2 teaspoons salt 

y 2 cup milk 

1 cup nuts 

(Concluded on page 470) 




468 



THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 









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ZEE 





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drain (on ZEE Paper Towels, of course). Roll 
in seasoned flour (1 teaspoon each salt and 
paprika and V4 teaspoon pepper mixed with 
y 2 cup flour) on sheet of ZEE Waxed Paper. 
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The Story of a Woman 
who was caught 

In the Gospel Net 



By DR. JOHN A. WIDTSOE 
At Book Stores — $1.75 



Know Your LDS Cooks 

{Concluded from page 468) 

Melt shortening and chocolate in pan. 
Add sugar and eggs and stir, but do not 
use a mixer. Add flour, milk, salt, vanilla 
and nuts. Bake at 375 J F. for thirty 
minutes. Frost while warm. 

/"^ladys Wight is one of the busiest 
^ persons you will find. Besides 
keeping an immaculate house and 
cooking luscious meals for her hus- 
band and daughter, Peggy, she occa- 
sionally helps her husband in his 
business and fills in now and then as 
a substitute teacher in the Ogden 
schools. She loves people, and so she 
does extensive entertaining. She even 
finds time to work with ceramics and 
fills her assignment each month as a 
visiting teacher in the Relief Society. 
Sister Wight has worked in the 
MIA for twenty-six years. She served 
in ward Mutuals and was an MIA 
stake board member for fifteen years. 
She was appointed on Sister Bertha 
S. Reeder's original board seven years 
ago and has served on the M Men- 
Gleaner, drama, and Special Interest 
committees, and is now chairman of 
the Junior-Gleaner committee! 

Besides their Mia Maid daughter, 
Brother and Sister Wight have a son, 
DeVerl, and three grandchildren. 



A PARABLE FOR PARENTS 

By Lee Priestly 

John Fondparent loosened the 
last button on his vest as with 
his newspaper he settled him- 
self with the reminiscent satisfaction 
of the well-fed. Relaxed in his chair, 
he watched his wife inspect a shirt 
taken from her mending basket with 
a look on her face of one who expects 
the worst. 

"How does he do it?" Mary Fond- 
parent asked. 

Knowing this for a rhetorical ques- 
tion, John Fondparent applied him- 
self to his reading. 

"Wouldn't you think," Mary asked, 
"that sometime one button would 
stay on — or one buttonhole not rip?" 

"Apparently not, when Tim's in- 
side the shirt." 

Mary Fondparent reached for her 
needle. "If I sew the buttons on 
extra tight, out they come by the 
roots. If I sew them loose, they 
scatter like falling leaves." 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



John Fondparent wasn't really In- 
terested in Tim's lack of buttons. 
"That was undoubtedly the best lem- 
on pie I've ever eaten," he said, then 
he added hastily, "of course, it wasn't 
better than the pies you bake." 

"Of course it was," his wife agreed 
placidly. "My pies are ordinarily 
good, but Marianne's lemon meringue 
is a cookery masterpiece." 

"From the best cook in town, 
Mother, that's praise!" Marianne 
followed her gay voice through the 
hall doorway. She struck a pose be- 
fore them and twirled in a flutter of 
skirts.. "Like it?" 

A gay embroidered rooster on the 
bodice of the white dress seemed to 
peck eagerly at three yellow buttons 
shaped like grains of corn. 

Marianne's father chuckled as he 
inspected it. "That's the best dress 
you've designed yet." 

As the doorbell rang, Marianne 
kissed them both hurriedly. "I told 
Roger not to come for me till the 
very last tick. I was afraid I wouldn't 
get the hem finished." Then in a 
clatter of heels and voices she was 
gone. 

"Where's Roger taking her?" John 
asked his wife. 

"Marjorie Carter is having a party 
for the cousin who is visiting her. 
You remember, I told you about Cora 
Carter's sister and niece who live in 
New York." 

John nodded, his mental eye re- 
calling the dress his own daughter 
had designed and made. "Where did 
Marianne find buttons that would 
fit the idea she had for her dress? 

"Those grains of corn on her dress? 
She couldn't find any, so she made 
those. Out of a yellow toothbrush 
handle with her nail file." Turning 
Tim's mangled shirt in her lap, Mary 
sighed. "Marjoric's cousin is so gifted. 
She sings very well, and she has 
studied art and speech under the 
very best teachers. I do so wish 
Marianne had some accomplish- 
ments." 



NO COMMENT 

By May Richstone 

I knotv my experimental 
new dish is 

An epicure's dream of 
something delicious, 

A triumph of flavor, fi- 
nesse, and restraint — 

// my husband eats it with- 
out complaint I 
JUNE 1955 



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If I Were in My Veens 



by Alberta H. Cbristensen 

OF THE RELIEF SOCIETY GENERAL BOARD 



Dear Son, 
Each of your letters wakens 
memories, for this is your first 
summer to be away, and I also was 
a middle-teen when I took my first 
long trip from home. Some of your 
reactions to this new experience are 
similar to my own — at your age. 
These are wonderful years, son, full 
of expectancy and wonderment. With 
all its so-called problems, and all the 
uncertainties of the atomic age, it 
still is wonderful to be a teen in to- 
day's world. There are so many 
challenging, constructive things to do, 
interesting things to know and to 
have, that I am profoundly amazed 
that any person should exhibit an 
attitude of boredom. There is no room 
in this world for boredom. It is all a 
matter of attitude, of objective pur- 
pose; we find that for which we seek. 
Those who look for nothing, find 
nothing — at least of interest. Those 
who look for opportunities, find 
plenty of them. 

Such reflection makes me grateful 
for those influences of early years 
which have given me an enthusiasm 
for life, and which you seem to share. 
Many of my present interests origi- 
nated, or at least were nourished, 
during my teen years. And I would 
go back and relive them chiefly to 
give these interests deeper root. Of 
course there are a few things I would 
do quite differently or — just wouldn't 
do. 

I am with you today in thought, 
as I read of your first sight of the 
Pacific — the surging ominous waves, 
the peacefully calm inlets. Only the 
barrier of miles and years separate us 
in this experience of which you write. 
You are looking ahead, to a world 
rich with promise, while I of middle 
years, am looking in two directions. 



472 



We have both heard the phrase, 
"If I had it to live over again." I 
have used it myself, many times, im- 
plying of course, that I could take 
to that re-living the wisdom earned 
through subsequent years. Otherwise 
there would be no profit in going 
back. Would you like to know what 
I would do differently, if I were your 
age again? 

First of all, I would learn to listen. 
I would not turn a deaf ear to the 
comments of my elders, though oc- 
casionally I did — even to those of my 
parents. I felt pretty sure about what 
I considered academic facts, and 
some things mother said seemed to 
me, pretty old-fashioned and "out of 
date." I often used that phrase. How 
I have come to realize the truth of 
her statements! I would also say, "But 
times are different, Dad" not know- 
ing how many fundamentals are un- 
changing. If I could go back I would 
know that although eyperience is the 
great teacher, much unhappiness 
could be avoided and much time 
saved by taking the advice of those 
who had to learn through experience. 

I wish you could have known my 
father. He read extensively and had 
an illustrative story for nearly every 
controversial situation. I can see his 
kind face now, lighting with earnest- 
ness or whimsical humor as he retold 
them. Some of these stories I remem- 
ber and treasure for their charm and 
wisdom. But there are interesting 
fragments, from those occasions when 
I did not listen, and therefore cannot 
recall in completeness or with ac- 
curacy, which make me wish I might 
go back. Truths, simple but funda- 
mental, were in those stories-^-de- 
cisions which had influenced his life 
or my mother's. Since I did not lis- 
ten, they are merely fragments of 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



memory. One incident, to which I did 
listen with interest, brought a rich 
and satisfying reward, for it was the 
means of my finding (when just your 
age) a large printed record of our an- 
cestors. This is the big green book I 
call "Jenny" and from which thou- 
sands of our family names for temple 
work have been taken. 

I am glad that you are affiliating 
with the young Church group, even 
though you will be with them for 
only a few weeks, and that you have 
found people, in general, so friendly. 
If I could go back to my teens, I 
would engage in even more group 
activity than I did, for I would know 
that the introspective, insecure feel- 
ing, so characteristic of the teen age, 
can be largely overcome by objective, 
group activity. We forget ourselves 
as we share enjoyment with others. 
You have found the people friendly 
because you have reached out to them 
in friendliness, another. of your vir- 
tues. 

We mailed the books you wanted. 
They should arrive soon. I was work- 
ing in the city library — afternoons, 
Saturdays, and summers when about 
your age and came to know a good 
deal about books. I needed to, and 
this contact with literature has been 
invaluable to me, but if I had it to 
do over again, I would read even 
more— more thoroughly and more 
selectively. There are a number of 
books which I should have read in 
my teens but did not. Some of these 
I have read in recent years, with less 
enjoyment and almost jealous of the 
time involved. 

I know what you think about the 
merits of radio and TV. They hold 
great promise educationally, and 
sometimes are very good, but they do 
not substitute for literature. There is 
a time and season for all desirable 
things, and teen years are good read- 
ing years. Busy as you are, at no time 
in your life, perhaps, will you be as 
free to schedule your own time as you 
are now. Make friends with some 
great people of the book world and 
take them with you, through life. 

Someone has said that you can 
classify a man by what he does in 
his leisure time — when he doesn't 
have to do specific things. This re- 
minds me of another thing I would 
do if I were in my teens. I would 
pursue some of my early handicraft 
interests more intensely so that I 
might more easily take them up again 
in later years when hobbies are of 

(Concluded on following page) 
JUNE 1955 




TIME AND STEPS 



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If I Were in My Teens 

(Concluded from preceding page) 
such value and you children need 
me less. Your father has always said 
that no matter how smart a man is 
or how much brain he must use in 
his profession, he should also know 
how to do at least one productive 
thing with his hands. This head and 
hand combination, he says, makes for 
good balance. 

Have a good time, Son, keeping in 
mind, of course, that a really good 
time is never followed by regret. And 
dream a little, too, remembering that 
there is a difference between dreams 
and mere wishful thinking. Dreams 
are the foundation stones for accom- 
plishment; wishful thinking merely 
a substitute for action. 

So much for going back — which of 
course one can never do, except in 
memory. At the moment I am glad 
that this is so. If I were in my teens, 
today, I would not be the mother of 
a teen-age son — tall, red-haired, 
clean, and alert — ready for the good 
things of life. May heaven bless you, 
son, that you may recognize these 
good things and make them a part 
of yourself. 

Lovingly, 
Mother 
P.S. It will be good to have you home 
again. Even your room misses you. 



474 



HANDY HINTS 

Payment for Handy Hints used will be 
one dollar upon publication. In the event 
that two with the same idea are submitted, 
the one postmarked earlier will receive the 
dollar. None of the ideas can be returned, 
but each will receive careful consideration. 

It's easy to make waterproof matches to 
take on fishing or boating trips. Use 
ordinary matches with phosphorus heads. 
Roll the upper half of each match in 
candle drippings. With one of these 
matches, you can be out in the rain for 
hours and still get a light. — D. K., Lansing, 
Michigan. 

When packing frosted cake or cupcakes 
in a lunch, lightly butter the waxed paper 
used for wrapping. This will keep the 
frosting from sticking to the paper and 
rubbing off. — E. E. B., Taber, Alberta, Can- 
ada. 

It is often cheaper to buy large cuts of 
meat and grind them at home. Here is an 
easy way to do it. Cut the meat into 
strips and freeze them. Put through the 
grinder while they are still frozen hard. 
They will go through surprisingly easy, will 
not stick to the grinder, nor drip juice, and 
the fibers will not wrap around the threads 
in the grinder. Meat can be ground as 
fine as desired. — Mrs. L. A. K., Seattle, 
Wash. 

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



3L 



owerS 
for the 
rJLadvL 

by R. K. Kent 

Flowers for your lady are a gracious 
gesture at any time. But the fel- 
low who makes the big hit is the 
one who knows what kind of flowers 
to send and when to send them. 

If it is a corsage for a party, there 
are other flowers besides gardenias 
and orchids. No matter how much 
the corsage costs, the girl friend is not 
going to be happy if it clashes with 
the color of her dress. When you 
send a corsage, it is always best to 
find out what kind of dress the girl 
is going to wear, not just the color but 
the make of the dress and the mate- 
rial. This may be Greek to you, but 
with that knowledge you can consult 
your sister or mother, or the florist for 
the appropriate corsage; telling the 
florist the state of your finances will 
make for just the right combination 
for everyone. 

It isn't always the costliest corsage 
that makes the biggest hit. Something 
odd like bachelor buttons and mari- 
golds tied with a silver ribbon is 
stunning on a black dress. There are 
pink and red camellia that make the 
standard old gardenia look ill. Gladi- 
oli, lilies, bright carnations, or snap- 
dragons can be fashioned into some- 
thing exotic for the glamor girl. The 
older woman always loves something 
nostalgic such as sweet peas, rosebuds, 
violets, pansies, or daisies. 

There are times when a corsage is 
not appropriate for a party. A cor- 
sage does not go well with some eve- 
ning dresses or with a gown that is 
very ornate. In this case the girl may 
prefer a flower for her hair. When 
choosing this, be sure to pick one that 
will lie flat, a single large flower or a 
small cluster of wee ones. And have 
it made up simply, without bows or 
frills. In some cases she may prefer 
flowers to wear at her waist. A sim- 
ple flat flower for this, or a cluster of 
small flowers, tucked through a round 
paper doily is just the thing. 

One should give a little forethought 
to sending flowers to the sick, too. It 
(Continued on following page) 
JUNE 1955 




Receives congratulations from Governor and fair official 



Washington Governor Presents Awards to Top Cook 



Gov. Arthur Langlie presents a blue 
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John McMurray, Manager of the 
Western Washington Fair, looks on. 
What's more, Mrs. Vasey won 10 
other prizes in cooking competition 
last fall — all at this same fair. 

Mrs. Vasey is another prize- win- 
ning cook who always uses Fleisch- 
mann's Active Dry Yeast. "It's so 
dependable," she says. "Rises fast 
every time, and keeps for months." 



If you bake ' at home serve your 
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stays fresh for months and always 
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475 





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Flowers for the Lady 

(Continued from preceding page) 
has always been a rule not to send 
heavily scented flowers to the ill. It 
is also good taste to send cheerful 
flowers. Lilies, white snapdragons, or 
white gladioli are too somber to cheer 
a sick person. Gay bold colors are 
the things to send. There are beautiful 
baskets and flower arrangements made 
up for this purpose. But these are ex- 
pensive and since the thought behind 
the flowers is much more appreciated 
than the flowers themselves do not 
hesitate to send the simplest bouquet. 
The mother of a new baby is in the 
hospital such a short time she loves a 
potted plant to take home with her or 
one of the small figurines filled with 
flowers. When Grandma is in the 
hospital she would dearly love to see 
a familiar old geranium or fuchsia 
such as she grew in her garden. And 
men? Well, if you send them flowers 
make them big and cheerful and mas- 
culine looking. Don't send some odd 
variety that he won't recognize. Most 
men know roses or daisies when they 
see them. Do enclose a funny card 
with them. They will keep the card 
and take it home with them, but they 
will probably give the flowers to the 
pretty nurse. 

When sending flowers to a funeral 
keep them in good taste. The showy 
wreath is no more appreciated than 
the smallest spray. Keep within your 
means. If you are sending the flowers 
to a very close friend, why not send 
a pot of red tulips or a bright hy- 
drangea to the lonely home? When 
in doubt, or when the funeral is a 
large one, and there will be so many 
flowers anyway, the happiest solution 
is to send a small check to the chil- 
dren's hospital or some other worthy 
charity in memory of the deceased 
and simply send a card of sympathy 
to the family mentioning that this has 
been done. 

In small towns where there is no 
florist, sometimes there are no flowers 
available. So why not send greens, 
ferns, small evergreens, or small 
potted cuttings? These sometimes 
grow into a beautiful memory, when 
the cut flowers would have vanished 
long before. It is the remembrance 
that counts. 




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476 



THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



Mormons in the Magazines 

(Concluded from page 390) 

pages, and four pictures by Charlotte 
Brooks, produced by Leo Rosten), 
Key questions are of the type that 
strangers would like to know about 
the history, beliefs, and practice; these 
are clearly and authoritatively an- 
swered with the help of some scrip- 
tural references, for example, 

"Do the Mormons have ministers? 

"Among the Latter-day Saints, 
there is no 'professional' clergy. The 
Church offers opportunity for partici- 
pation and responsibility for every- 
one. Any worthy man may be called 
to be a bishop or to fill any other 
priesthood office for an unspecified 
time, and without financial compen- 
sation. For his livelihood, he would 
usually continue his lay profession or 
occupation. 

"A boy or girl of eight or ten may 
occupy a pulpit for a short talk. Boys 
beginning at the age of twelve are 
ordained to an office in the priest- 
hood. There are organizations within 
the Church that provide for study, 
for service, and for the cultural and 
recreational activities of every man, 
woman, and child of all ages. All 
are expected to participate and to per- 
form some service. The Mormon is 
proud of his 'practical' religion which 
takes into account the wholeness of 
man and teaches that '. . . men are, 
that they might have joy' (Book of 
Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:25)." 



Melchizedek Priesthood 

(Continued from page 465) 

And this is according to the oath and 
covenant which belongeth to the priest- 
hood. 

Therefore, all those who receive the 
priesthood, receive this oath and covenant 
from my Father, which he cannot break, 
neither can it be moved. 10 

1( 'lbid., 84:38-40. 

Thus, according to the oath and 
covenant of the priesthood, we shall 
have the privilege of being sealed to 
our wives, of having our children 
born under the covenant, and of 
eventually gaining eternal life in the 
celestial realms upon condition of 
our faithfulness to the end. However, 
these are the words of the Lord re- 
garding those who do not prove 
faithful to the covenant of the priest- 
hood: 

(Concluded on following page) 
JUNE 1955 





in 



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477 



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THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



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Melchizedek Priesthood 

(Concluded from preceding page) 

But whosoever breaketh this covenant 
after he hath received it, and altogether 
turneth therefrom, shall not have forgive- 
ness of sins in this world nor in the world 
to come. 11 

The foregoing definitely shows 
that dreadful consequences await 
priesthood holders who do not live 
in accordance with the oath and cove- 
nant of the priesthood after they had 
received it. 



"Ibid., 84:41. 



■ — > » 



These Times 



478 



(Continued from page 370) 

and the truth was to make us free. 
Modern prophets have declared that 
"the gospel is a perfect law of liberty." 
Is it wise, perhaps, to recall that to cry 
"Lord, Lord," is not to enter the king- 
dom? How can freedom and organiza- 
tion be reconciled? In the family? The 
ward? The quorum? The auxiliary? The 
stake? The wide, vast far-reaching 
Church? This outcome is no more a 
matter of happenstance than full tithe- 
paying, Word-of- Wisdom keeping, and 
ten percent attendance at meetings. No 
great principle is achieved, simply be- 
cause proclaimed. Perhaps the greatest 
demonstration of a social problem's 
solution in these times is a challenge 
for contemporary Christians — especially 
if there is ground for Toynbee's analysis 
that churches represent a new and po- 
tentially attractive species of society. 

How can a man have his liberty and 
render obedience at the same time? 
Theology presents us with the vision of 
the Great "Council of the Gods," (See 
Job 38:4-7; Abr. 3:22-25) and the de- 
cision that the free agency of man must 
be eternally inviolate. Socially and 
politically this ideal becomes weighted 
down under the pressure of those free 
agents, whether king, priest, pope, par- 
ent, or child, who use weapons ranging 
from force to bribery to gain their ends; 
and it becomes lost under the negligence 
and weakness of those who fail to meas- 
ure up to the responsibilities of the 
kingship of choice. Constitutionalism, 
in church and state, including pre- 
scribed procedures, generally-known 
(and not secret) goals and objectives, 
represent the contemporary cultural 
burden of the problem. 

As stated earlier, Professor Toynbee 
does not rate as a professional theo- 
logian, but as one who has attempted 
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA 



to examine twenty-one specimen-civi- 
lizations under his history-glass, he, as 
a secular scholar in a secular age, offers 
some ideas. Among them is the fol- 
lowing view on the importance of 
recognizing rich variety in the ecology 
of man on this planet: 

"Uniformity is not possible in Man's 
approach to the One True God because 
Human Nature is stamped with the 
fruitful diversity that is a hallmark of 
God's creative work. . . . The 'true 
light, which lighteth every man that 
cometh into the world' (John 1:9) has 
to be received by every creature ac- 
cording to the particular lights with 
which the Creator has endowed it. To 
enable human souls to receive the di- 
vine light is the purpose for which Re- 
ligion exists, and it could not fulfil this 
purpose if it did not faithfully reflect 
the diversity of God's human worship- 
pers." (Vol. 7:442.) 

Toynbee doesn't think that things will 
ever be done on earth as they are in 
heaven, but the "progress of individual 
souls through this world towards God, 
and not the progress of society in this 
world, is the end in which the supreme 
value is found" (p. 564). His fear of 
anthropolatry (man-worship or institu- 
tion-worship) is again expressed in the 
statement that "the touchstone of the 
value of an insitution is whether it helps 
or hinders man to find his way back to 
his Maker, and an institution will be- 
come an obstacle if it is taken as being 
an end in itself instead of being used 
as the mere means that is all that it 
truly is." (P. 561.) 

One comes through the remaining 
volumes to the closing lines of volume 
X with the feeling that this great scholar 
has acquired a sense of appreciation for 
mankind's historic-religious experience, 
Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, 
Jewish, or what not, that few others 
will ever realize. Furthermore, one is 
impressed with his view of the signifi- 
cance of the contemporary four "higher 
religions" and their potential harmony. 
The hypothesis that universal churches 
represent a new and important object of 
study and examination by the social 
scientist, in a different sense from what 
past views permit, is challenging and 
intriguing. Especially is this so in view 
of his theory that universal churches, 
in some circumstances, represent a "new 
species of society" in an upward spiral 
of significance, beyond the significance 
even of the major civilizations. Whether 
such a new "species" can successfully 
reconcile freedom and organization re- 
mains a practical problem. Toynbee 
believes "the love of God and of man" 
is the essential key. But can this key 
be turned on earth, by men, as it is in 
heaven? This, dear reader, is where we 
come in, not only to the study, but also 
to the living of history in these times. 
JUNE 1955 



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GOLDEN GLEANER OF HAWAII MISSION 

Sister Gertrude Souza of the Kauai 
District, Hawaii Mission, has 
recently been awarded her Golden 
Gleaner certificate and is honored 
as the first Golden Gleaner in the 
Hawaii Mission. At the same time 
she received her award, she was 
chosen to be the Hawaii Mission 
YWMIA supervisor, which also is 
the first time that this position has 
been held by a local Saint. Sister 
Souza served on a two-year mission 
to Japan from June 1951 to June 
1953, and has served as YWMIA 
supervisor for the Kauai District. 

This summer she plans to attend 
the MIA June conference to obtain 
new ideas to use for the Hawaii 
Mission with hopes that just such a 
program may be put on in the is- 
lands. 



MIA MEMBER NINETY 




V 




Memphis 15, Tenn. 
Gentlemen, 

Allow me to congratulate you on a truly fine magazine. It helps 
me spiritually more than I could ever express in words. When- 
ever I feel a little lonely or homesick I open the Era and am com- 
pletely entranced with the stories and articles. 

Yours truly, 
/s/ James E. Kemple 



The Rupert Second Ward of the Minidoka Stake at Rupert, 
Idaho have a living answer to those who say they are too old to 
attend MIA. He is John W. Hymas who observed his 90th Birth- 
day on February 22nd. He is a regular and enthusiastic member 
of the Special Interest Group of the Rupert Second Ward MIA. 
Brother Hymas and his wife, who died three years ago, were the 
parents of 12 children. Together they have faced the hardships as 
well as the joys of the passing years on the Minidoka project and 
have contributed their full share of service to the Church and its 
auxiliaries. Left to right, Ray Johnson, asst. sup't., Bishop LeRoy 
Blacker, John W. Hymas, Vaughn Bair, Sup't. YMMIA, and Leah 
Catmull. 



M MEN GLEANER WEEK IN HAWAII 



The young men and women of the Mutual Improvement Associa- 
tion of the Oahu Stake held their annual M Men and Gleaner 
Week program recently. The activities included firesides, a temple 
excursion to the Hawaiian Temple at Laie, election of officers for 
the coming year, visiting classes in neighboring wards and branches, 
a talent program at Kaneohe, a picnic at Laie, and sunrise services 
at both the tabernacle in Honolulu and the temple at Laie. The 
climax of the week's program was the formal banquet and dance 
which was held at the picturesque Elk's Club at Waikiki Beach. 
Two hundred and eighteen people were in attendance. Master M 
Men and Golden Gleaner awards were made to four outstanding 
members of the MIA who had fulfilled necessary requirements. The 




three girls who achieved the Golden Gleaner award and pins were: 
Amy K. Brown, Stake Gleaner Leader; Merren Au, Laie Ward; and 
Viola Kelii, Laie 2nd Ward. John Medeiros of the Kaneohe Ward 
received the Master M Man award and pin from Stake YMMIA 
Superintendent Robert S. Taylor. 

The highlight feature of the M Men-Gleaner week was the presen- 
tation of the Honorary Master M Men and Honorary Golden 
Gleaner awards. For the first time in the history of the Oahu Stake 
two honorary awards were presented for outstanding service to the 
youth of the church. The awards were presented to Edward L. 
Clissold, President of the Oahu Stake and Irene P. Clissold, wife 
of President Clissold. 

President Clissold, the recipient of 
the Honorary Master M Man award, 
has held many important positions 
in the Church, as has Sister Clissold, 
recipient of the Honorary Golden 
Gleaner Award. 

Honored guests at the annual M 
Men Banquet and dance held in 
March. (Above) All were awarded 
Master M Men and Golden Gleaner 
awards with the exception of Sister 
Keawemauhili and Brother Lung who 
had previously been given the awards. 
(L. to r.) John Medeiros, Merren Au, 
Amy K. Brown, Irene P. Clissold, Ed- 
ward L. Clissold, Juanita Kelii Kea- 
wemauhili, Viola Kelii, and Glen 
Lung. 

Officers of the Oahu Stake MIA: 
(I. to r.) First row: Wesley Kekauoha, 
M Men Advisor; Hideo Kanetsuna, 
Sec, YMMIA; Richard L. Clissold, 
Activity Couns.; Gordon Adams, out- 
going Chairman, M Men-Gleaner 
Council; Wilfred Brown, Stake M 
Men Supervisor. Second row, stand- 
ing: Robert S. Taylor, Stake Sup't. 
MIA; Amy Brown, Stake Gleaner 
leader; Viola Kelii, outgoing Gleaner 
Rep.; Winifred Keanini, incoming 
Rep.; Babs Kelly, incoming Chair- 
man of M Men-Gleaner Council; Lily 
Deering, Stake Activity Couns.; YW 
MIA; and Julina Lung, Stake Sec, 
YWMIA. 



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Our fourth and present president 
DAVID 0. McKAY 






'enmcmvofmu . . . 



Just a half century ago this month, the organization of Beneficial Life Insur- 
ance Company was completed after months of preliminary planning and effort. 
The officers of the company, with Joseph F. Smith as the first president, exem- 
plified the sound, able management that Beneficial has enjoyed ever since. Pres- 
ident Heber J. Grant and President George Albert Smith, along with the officers 
serving under them, guided Beneficial through more years of sizable and steady 
progress. 

Under the inspiring leadership of our present president, David 0. McKay, 
Beneficial will complete it's Golden Anniversary Year with more than a 400-fold 
increase over the life insurance in force at the end of that first successful year 
. . . reflecting the continuing growth in business volume, reputation, and serv- 
ice to our policyholders during Fifty Beneficial Years. 



BENEFICIAL I 




David O. McKay, Pres. 





Salt Lake City, Utah 




Beneficial Life's first president 
JOSEPH F. SMITH (1905 to 1918) 




Second president was 
HEBER J. GRANT (1918 to 1945) 




45 to 1951)